Tread  56' 


Front  AxJe 
Clearance,  10" 


6  Cylinder.  4  Cycle,  Water 
Cooled  Motor.  .70  Horse 
Power. 


Two  separate  and  distinct 
Systems  of  Ignition.    Two      J_ 
sets  of  Spark  Plug's. 


Wheel  Base,  140:4 


Transmission  and  Differen 
tial  Gear  in  same  Case 
run  in  oil. 


Gear  Ratios, 
Engine  to 
Rear  Axle, 
2.78,  2.6,  2.36 
and  2.23. 


Rear  Axle 
Clearance, 


^•Wheels,  36"  diameter 


Steering  Connecting 
Rod  behind  Front 
Axle,  protected. 

Front  Tires,  4Ji"  on 
odels. 


Fhomas  Three  Disc  Clutch. 


Selective  Control. 
— 18"  Steering  Wheel. 


--•Spark  and  Throttle 
Levers  on  top  of  Steer- 
ing Wheel. 


Four  speeds  ^forward  and 
a  Reverse  Selective  Typt 
Sliding  Gear  Transmission 


Double  set  of 
Hrakes  on  Trans- 
mission  Shaft 
and  Rear  Wheels 


•<—  Rear  Tires  4H" 
on  Flyabout  and 
Tourabout. 
on  Touring  Car, 
Limousine  and 
Landaulet. 


Chassis    of    Thomas   6    Cylinder,    70    Horse    Power    Flyer 


A  1909  Model  Chassis. 


>WIW« 




,/lutomobile  Ttriving 
1 1         Self -Taught 


An   Exhaustive   Treatise  on  the  Operation, 
Management  and  Care  of  Motor  Cars. 


-BY- 


THOMAS  H.  IjUSSELL,  A.  M.,  M.  E. 

Former  Editor  of  "Modern  Machinery";  Author  of  "The 
American  Cyclopedia  of  the  Automobile";  Author  of 
"History  of  the  Automobile,"  "Automobile  Motors  and 
Mechanism,"  "Ignition,  Timing  and  Valve  Setting," 
"Motor  Boats:  Construction  and  Operation."  etc..  etc. 


1912 

CHARLES  C.  THOMPSON  CD. 
CHICAGO.  U.  S.  A. 


Copyright,  1912 

By  CHARLES  ,C.  THOMPSON  CO. 
,  U.S.  A. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

Copyright,  MCMIX 

By  CHARLES  C.  THOMPSON  CO. 

(Not  Inc.) 


Preface 


As  comfort  and  safety  in  automobiling  depend  to  a  very 
large  extent  upon  the  skill  of  the  driver,  it  should  be  the  aim 
of  everyone  who  undertakes  to  drive  a  car  to  acquire  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  approved  methods  of  driving. 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  present  such  information  in 
a  convenient,  practical  manner,  so  as  to  make  it  compara- 
tively easy  for  any  motorist  to  acquire  skill  in  the  manage- 
ment and  care  of  his  machine.  Study  and  practice  combined 
will  surely  develop  the  expertness  which  is  needed  nowadays 
at  the  wheel,  being  demanded  alike  by  the  interests  of  the 
automobilist  and  of  the  non-motoring  public.  The  careless  or 
ignorant  driver  is  a  menace,  not  only  to  the  safety  of  the 
public,  but  also  to  that  of  his  passengers.  The  daily  experi- 
ence of  every  motorist  demonstrates  the  need  for  carefulness 
in  driving  and  there  is  no  longer  any  excuse  for  ignorance. 

The  methods  of  driving  prescribed  in  this  work  are  those 
that  have  been  found  best  in  actual  experience  on  the  road. 
From  these  pages  the  motorist  can  learn  how  to  start,  drive 
and  manage  his  car  under  all  conceivable  circumstances.  The 
best  methods  of  caring  for  the  car  when  not  in  use  are  also 
plainly  shown,  as  well  as  the  manner  in  which  a  car  should 
be  laid  up  when  necessary. 

Several  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  causes  and  remedies 
for  various  difficulties  that  may  be  met  with  in  starting  the 
engine,  also  those  due  to  loss  of  power.  Causes  of  involuntary 
stops  are  likewise  indicated  and  the  proper  remedies  pre- 

3 

250473 


scribed.  The  properties  and  economical  use  of  gasolene  are 
discussed  and  many  valuable  hints  and  tips  for  the  gasolene 
consumer  are  given.  Then  the  operating  mechanism  of  a 
modern  car  is  described  and  the  various  forms  of  change  speed 
gear  are  made  clear  by  non-technical  text  and  plain  illustra- 
tions. There  is  also  an  interesting  chapter  on  the  choice  of  a 
car,  intended  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  contemplate  enter- 
ing the  ever-growing  ranks  of  the  automobile  fraternity. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  this  work  is  not  only  a  complete 
textbook  for  self-tuition  in  the  art  of  automobile  driving,  but 
also  a  handy  reference  book  in  cases  of  trouble  due  to  difficulty 
in  starting,  involuntary  stops,  loss  of  power,  etc.,  and  a  store- 
house of  practical  information  on  the  care  and  maintenance  of 
the  motor  car.  T.  H.  R. 


Contents 


Page 

1.  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING— General  Instructions      7 

Starting  the  Engine — Advancing  the  Spark — 
How  to  Change  Speeds — Use  of  the  Clutch 
— The  Control  Levers — Principles  of  Gear 
Changing— The  Engine  Speed  as  a  Factor — 
How  to  Get  the  Best  Work  Out  of  a  Motor — 
Skidding  or  Sideslip. 

2.  THE  ART  OF  DRIVING— How  to  Become  a  Safe 

and  Expert  Driver 55 

3.  SELF-TUITION  IN  DRIVING— Continued 61 

The  Initial  Trip — Charging  Tanks — Starting 
the  Engine — 'Manipulating  the  Control — Cor- 
rect Mixture — Changing  Gear — On  the  Top 
Speed — Withdrawing  the  Clutch — Coasting 
Slopes — Picking  up  the  Drive — Driving  on 
the  Reverse — Entering  and  Leaving  the 
Garage — After  the  Drive — Road  Risks,  etc. 

4.  ANOTHER  LESSON  IN  DRIVING 72 

Learning  the  Steering  and  Control — Pre- 
liminary Attentions  to  Car — Starting — Chang- 
ing Speed — Coasting,  Braking  and  Reversing 
— Sources  of  Sideslip — To  Avoid  Skidding — 
Non-slip  Devices — Choice  of  Track — Speed 
Limits — Conduct  in  Emergencies — Driving 
Through  City  Traffic — Meeting  Horses,  Cattle 
and  Cyclists. 

5.  DIFFICULTY    IN    STARTING— S  y  m  p  t  o  m  s, 

Causes  and  Remedies 85 

6.  INVOLUNTARY  STOPS— Causes  and  Remedies.     90 


7.  LOSS  OF  POWER— Causes  and  Remedies 101 

8.  CARE     AND     MAINTENANCE     OF     MOTOR 

CARS    110 

Private  Housing — The  Garage — Light  and 
Warmth — Cleaning — Care  of  the  Hands — 
Lubricating — Adjusting — Adjustable  Bear- 
ings— Brake  Treatment — Charging  Batteries 
— Recharging  from  a  Strange  Supply. 

9.  CARE  OF  A  CAR  ON  A  TOUR 131 

10.  LAYING  UP  A  CAR 146 

Cleaning  the  Engine — The  Transmission 
Gear — Connections  and  Chains — The  Clutch 
— Protection  of  Exposed  Metallic  Parts—- 
The Lubricators — Tire  Treatment — Laying 
Up  for  the  Winter. 

11.  GASOLENE — Its  Properties  and  Economical  Use.    155 

12.  GASOLENE  HINTS  AND  TIPS 159 

13.  OPERATING    MECHANISM    OF    A    MODERN 

CAR 165 

14.  CHOICE  OF  A  CAR,  ETC 167 

15.  CHANGE  SPEED  GEAR— Various  Forms 184 

Need  of  a  Reducing  Gear — Transmission  and 
Variable  Gearing — Selective  Sliding  Gears. 

16.  "DON'TS"  FOR  MOTOR  CAR  DRIVERS  AND 

TIRE  OWNERS 216 

17.  THE  LAW  OF  THE  ROAD 223 

18.  RACE  DRIVING  AS  A  BUSINESS 239 

19.  NEGLIGENCE  IN  DRIVING..  246 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


PART  I. 
AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING. 

The  best  way  to  learn  to  drive  a  car  is  a  question  that  must 
be  decided  by  individual  circumstances.  It  is  generally 
agreed,  however,  though  not  regarded  as  essential,  that  the 
novice  should  begin  with  a  small  light  car,  if  convenient,  and 
acquire  confidence  in  the  use  of  such  a  machine  before  under- 
taking the  management  of  the  heavier,  costlier  and  more  com- 
plex cars.  This  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  the  man  who 
has  never  driven  an  automobile  must  needs  first  buy  a  light 
car  before  indulging  the  desire  of  his  heart  to  own  a  powerful, 
commodious  touring  machine.  Facilities  for  learning  to  drive 
on  a  small  car  abound  in  our  cities  and  towns  nowadays,  and 
automobile  agents  are  usually  ready  to  put  prospective  cus- 
tomers in  the  way  of  receiving  preliminary  instruction  on 
light  machines  at  expert  hands.  For  his  own  comfort  and 
safety's  sake,  as  well  as  for  considerations  of  public  safety,  no 
man  should  attempt  to  drive  a  car  of  any  size  until  he  has 
informed  himself  pretty  fully  on  its  details  of  construction  and 
methods  of  control. 

It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  some  of  the  general 
instructions  under  this  head  of  "Driving,"  as  well  as  many  of 
the  hints  and  "tips"  which  follow,  have  been  written  to  apply 
especially  to  cars  of  moderate  power,  such  as  novices  are 
usually  recommended  to  learn  upon.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered also  that  thousands  of  cars  made  in  earlier  years  of  the 
automobile  industry  are  still  in  daily  use  and  are  constantly 
changing  ownership,  so  that  the  mechanism,  driving  and 
control  of  such  cars  properly  receive  due  consideration  in 
these  pages.  ,  •  • 

At  the  same  time  the  vast  majority  of  the  instructions  ap- 


•8  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

ply  to  the  driving  of  any  car  irrespective  of  size,  though  each 
individual  make  has  its  peculiarities  which  cannot  be  covered 
under  a  general  heading. 

"Drive  slowly  until  fully  competent"  is  a  general  instruc- 
tion to  beginners  which  is  all-important  and  should  never  be 
neglected. 

Nerve,  judgment,  experience,  and  consideration  for  the  pub- 
lic are  all  necessary  for  good  driving.  The  mere  steering  of 
the  car  on  a  dry  road  where  there  is  no  traffic  is  as  simple  as 
child's  play,  but  it  is  when  difficulties  arise  suddenly  that  the 
qualities  above  enumerated  become  necessary. 

Before  Starting. 

Before  starting  a  car  for  the  day,  first  examine  the  gasole«ne, 
lubricating  oil  and  water  tanks,  and  grease  cups  to  make  sure 
they  are  fully  charged.  See  that  the  engine  and  other  vital 
parts  are  lubricated  properly.  Make  a  cursory  examination 
of  the  wires,  batteries,  etc.,  to  determine  if  all  the  connections 
are  tight.  Make  sure,  too,  that  the  gear  lever  is  in  the  neutral 
notch,  and  that  the  hand-brake  is  on  hard.  Make  a  general 
inspection  of  the  car  so  far  as  time  permits.  Then  turn  on  the 
gasolene,  switch  on  the  current,  and  retard  the  sparking  so 
as  to  prevent  the  risk  of  back  fire.  It  sometimes  happens 
that  the  engine  will  not  start  freely  with  the  ignition  retarded 
to  the  fullest.  In  such  a  case  the  lever  should  be  advanced 
very  slightly  until  the  best  position  has  been  found  by  ex- 
periment, bearing  in  mind  always  that  the  further  it  is  ad- 
ranced  the  greater  will  be  the  risk  of  a  back  fire. 

The  carburation  lever,  when  such  is  fitted,  is  the  nrrst  that 
requires  attention.  Seeing  that  the  piston  can  only  be  made 
to  travel  at  a  comparatively  slow  rate  when  operated  by  the 
starting  handle,  it  is  necessary  to  put  the  carburation  lever 
in  such  a  position  that  nearly  the  entire  volume  of  air  passes 
round  the  spraying  nipple.  Most  carbureters  nowadays  are 
automatic,  so  that  the  correct  proportion  of  air  and  gas  are 
approximately  assji'r^ct.'at  every  revolution.  It  may,  however, 
be  necessary  to  sligritly  alt^r  the  adjustment  of  the  air  supply. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  9 

The  throttle  lever  should  then  be  placed  in  the  position 
which  has  been  found  by  experiment  to  be  the  best  one  for 
starting  purposes. 

Starting  the  Engine. 

The  next  operation  is  to  start  the  engine.  First  operate  the 
small  plunger  fitted  over  the  float  chamber  of  the  carbureter 
for  the  purpose  of  insuring  an  adequate  supply  of  gasolene 
vapor,  which  otherwise  might  not  be  sufficient,  owing  to  the 
impossibility  of  operating  the  engine  at  a  fast  speed  by  hand, 
and  the  consequent  feeble  suction.  It  is  best,  however,  not  to 
"flood"  the  carbureter  in  the  ordinary  acceptance  of  the  term, 
for  if  there  is  an  over  supply  of  gasolene  the  mixture  may 
prove  so  rich  that  the  engine  will  not  start.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  get  the  mixture  rich  enough  to  be  easily  ignited.  Ex- 
perience will  show  to  what  extent  the  carbureter  need  be 
"tickled"  to  insure  the  best  starting  results. 

Next,  with  the  handle  at  the  lowest  point,  grasp  it  in  the 
right  hand  with  the  fingers  pointing  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  handle  revolves,  and,  with  the  left  hand,  grip  the  adjacent 
dumb-iron  so  as  to  give  a  good  purchase.  Then  standing  well 
clear  of  the  handle  give  a  short,  sharp  pull  upward,  more  in 
the  nature  of  a  jerk  than  an  ordinary  pull,  and  drop  the 
handle  the  moment  it  gets  to  the  highest  point. 

Should  the  engine  not  start  after  several  trials  "tickle"  the 
carbureter  again  and  try  once  more.  If  the  engine  still  proves 
refractory,  squirt  a  little  kerosene  or  gasolene — the  latter  is 
the  most  efficacious —  through  the  compression  cocks.  If  this 
fails,  examine  the  ignition  system,  especially  the  plugs.  Note 
that  the  handle  should  always  be  pulled  upward,  never  pushed 
downward,  and  it  is  advisable  to  place  the  thumb  on  the  same 
side  of  the  handle  as  to  the  fingers,  in  case  of  a  back  fire.  Some 
motorists  adopt  the  practice  of  winding  the  handle  until  the 
engine  starts.  It  is  a  dangerous  practice  however,  for,  should 
a  back  fire  occur,  a  sprained  or  broken  wrist  may  result. 

Most  two,  four  and  six  cylinder,  as  well  as  some  of  the  later 
types  of  one-cylinder  cars  are  provided  with  a  compression 
release  arrangement  to  facilitate  starting.  This  is  actuated 


10  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

by  a  rod  projecting  through  the  frame  under  the  bonnet  in 
front  of  the  car.  It  is  held  in  position  by  a  stop  while  the 
handle  is  being  turned.  When  the  motor  starts,  return  the 
rod  to  its  normal  position. 

Multi-cylinder  engines,  while  still  hot,  can,  as  a  rule,  be 
started  by  switching  on  the  current,  and  also  when  cold, 
but  in  this  case  the  driver  should  give  the  starting  handle  a 
turn  or  two  first,  with  the  ignition  switched  off,  so  as  to  draw 
in  a  charge.  In  the  case  of  one  or  two  cylinder  engines  it  is 
also  advisable  to  draw  in  a  charge  before  the  ignition  is 
switched  on,  and  the  operator  should  make  sure  that  the  pis- 
ton is  on  the  compression  stroke  before  finally  attempting  to 
get  the  engine  in  motion. 

Advancing  the  Spark. 

Having  started  the  engine  the  ignition  should  be  very 
slightly  advanced  to  prevent  overheating  At  the  same  time 
the  throttle  lever  should  be  operated  until  the  engine  is  run- 
ning as  slowly  as  possible.  The  driver  should  then  take  his 
seat  in  the  car,  depress  the  clutch  pedal,  take  the  hand  brake 
out  of  operation,  move  the  gear  lever  into  the  low  speed  notch, 
open  the  throttle  to  a  medium  position,  and  let  the  clutch  in 
as  smoothly  and  gradually  as  possible.  The  practice  of  start- 
ing on  any  gear  but  the  low  one,  except  on  a  down  grade,  is 
not  to  be  recommended,  as  it  strains  the  engine  and  entire 
transmission  system. 

How  to  Change  Speeds. 

It  is  absolutely  essential  that  the  beginner  should  care- 
fully cultivate  the  art  of  changing  his  gears  correctly  if  he 
desires  to  become  an  expert  driver  and  to  drive  economically. 
The  sliding  type  of  change  speed  gear  which  is  now  almost 
universal  is,  from  a  mechanical  point  of  view,  a  somewhat 
brutal  system,  because,  if  the  driver  is  not  skilful  and  careful, 
he  is  bound  to  bring  the  edges  of  the  gear  wheels  on  the 
primary  and  secondary  shaft  into  fierce  contact  while  they 
are  revolving  at  different  speeds.  This  will  cause  great  wear 
and  may  even  chip  off  portions  of  the  teeth.  The  act  of  chang- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  11 

ing  properly  is  simply  a  knack,  requiring  some  experience  and 
a  quick,  delicate  and  sympathetic  touch.  The  beginner  should, 
if  possible,  learn  this  on  a  small  car. 

Before  making  his  initial  attempt  he  should  endeavor  to 
grasp  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  The  Droblem  is  as  fol- 
lows: There  are  two  trains  of  gear  wheels  (see  Change 
Speed  Gear)  revolving  at  varying  speeds  according  to  the 
ratio  between  the  two  gear  wheels  which  happen  to  be  in 
mesh.  The  change  is  effected  by  taking  these  gear  wheels 
out  of  mesh,  and  causing  two  other  gear  wheels  to  mesh 
whose  ratios  to  each  other  are  not  the  same  as  the  previous 
pair,  and  which  consequently  are  revolving  at  different  speeds 
at  the  moment  immediately  preceding  the  change.  To  effect 
a  clean  change,  therefore,  it  is  essential  that  at  the  moment 
when  the  two  gear  wheels  are  moved  into  contact  they  are 
revolving  at  approximately  their  respective  "in-mesh"  speeds. 
Otherwise  the  faces  of  the  teeth  will  grind  against  each  other. 

Different  makes  of  cars  generally  vary  slightly  as  regards 
the  movements  necessary  for  perfect  changing,  and  conse- 
quently we  shall  describe  the  best  methods  for  certain  types 
of  cars  well  known  in  the  United  States  and  Europe.  This 
will  prove  sufficient  guide  as  to  general  principles.  Taking 
the  Peugeot  car  as  a  typical  example,  we  will  describe  the  best 
methods  for  manipulating  the  gears.  Having  started  the  en- 
gine, its  speed  should  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  prior  to  de- 
clutching, so  as  to  insure  that  the  clutch  shaft  ceases  to  re- 
volve. The  gear  lever  should  then  be  moved  gently  into  the 
low  speed  notch.  If  there  is  any  difficulty  in  getting  the  gear 
teeth  to  engage  without  grating,  the  clutch  should  be  let  into 
operation  for  a  moment,  and  another  attempt  made,  or  fail- 
ing that,  the  driver  should  get  into  the  reverse  and  then  im- 
mediately go  right  forward  into  the  low  speed.  For  the  second 
speed  the  engine  should  be  run  at  its  normal  speed,  and  the 
clutch  taken  out  sharply  and  decisively.  The  change  also 
should  be  made  with  decision,  the  vital  point  being  that  both 
movements  should  synchronize.  At  the  same  time  the  move- 
ment should  not  be  violent. 


12  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

On  the  third  and  fourth  speeds,  the  change  should  also  be 
decisive,  the  gear  lever  being  pushed  rapidly  forward  at  the 
moment  of  declutching.  Any  hesitation  will  cause  the  car 
to  lose  impetus,  and  consequently  the  engine  will  not  take  up 
its  load  well,  while  in  many  cases  the  teeth  will  grind.  As 
regards  the  top  speed,  it  is  direct  in  the  case  of  the  cars  man- 
ufactured by  the  Peugeot  firm,  and  is  obtained  by  means  of 
dog  clutches.  If  the  action  of  changing  is  decisive  there  is 
very  little  risk  of  missing  this  gear,  but  if  the  operator  does 
miss,  the  only  plan  is  to  go  right  back  on  to  the  third  speed, 
let  the  clutch  in  for  a  moment,  and  then  make  another  attempt 
at  changing.  When  changing  from  a  low  to  a  higher  speed, 
it  is  not  well  to  let  the  clutch  in  instantaneously,  especially 
on  an  up-grade,  as  the  strain  will  then  be  considerable,  and  the 
speed  taken  off  the  engine.  There  should  be  just  a  suspicion 
of  slip  to  enable  the  drive  to  be  taken  up  smoothly.  The 
driver  should  not  change  too  soon  to  a  higher  gear  on  an 
ascent.  He  should  wait  until  he  is  sure  that  the  engine  will 
take  the  higher  gear  without  laboring. 

In  changing  down  the  method  is  somewhat  different.  The 
operator  should  be  careful  that  the  speed  at  which  the  car  is 
traveling  approximates  to  that  to  which  he  is  about  to  de- 
scend, and  consequently  if  he  is  changing  on  the  level,  for  the 
sake  of  traffic  or  such  like,  he  should  slow  down  the  car  by 
means  of  the  throttle  or  by  taking  the  clutch  out  momentarily. 
In  the  latter  case  it  facilitates  changing  to  let  the  clutch  into 
operation  again  for  a  fraction  of  a  second  before  effecting  the 
change.  As  regards  the  actual  change,  whether  on  the  level 
or  on  an  ascent,  the  method  of  declutching  is  different  from 
that  adopted  when  changing  up.  Instead  of  the  clutch  being 
taken  out  firmly,  rapidly,  and  decisively,  the  foot  action  should 
be  more  in  the  nature  of  a  tap,  only  just  sufficient  to  relieve 
the  pressure  of  the  pinions  on  each  other,  so  as  to  facilitate 
their  coming  out  of  mesh  in  response  to  the  pressure  of  the 
gear  lever,  actuated  at  the  same  time.  The  change  speed  lever 
should  not  be  operated  quite  so  decisively,  but  at  the  same 
time  without  hesitation,  the  object  aimed  at  being  to  bring 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  13 

the  pinions  into  contact  at  the  exact  moment  when  the  pri- 
mary gear  shaft  has  slowed  to  such  an  extent  that  the  smaller 
pinion,  which  is  about  to  be  brought  into  mesh,  is  revolving 
approximately  at  the  same  rate  as  the  larger  pinion  on  the 
secondary  gear  shaft.  In  getting  from  the  fourth  to  the  third, 
and  the  third  to  the  second,  it  is  very  unusual  to  miss  chang- 
ing, but  in  getting  from  the  second  to  the  first  or  lowest  speed, 
the  smallness  of  the  pinion  on  the  primary  shaft,  and  the  like- 
lihood of  the  car  traveling  too  fast  for  the  low  speed,  make 
a  change  more  difficult.  The  operator  should,  therefore,  wait 
until  the  pace  has  dropped,  and  if  the  gears  grate  should  give 
two  or  three  rapid  taps  to  the  clutch  pedal,  at  the  same  time 
applying  gentle  pressure  to  the  change-speed  lever,  when  the 
gear  will  easily  go  home.  The  engine  should  not  be  raced  just 
before  the  change  is  made,  neither  should  it  be  throttled  down 
but  should  be  run  at  about  its  normal  speed.  Should,  how- 
ever, the  driver  wish  to  pick  up  quickly  on  an  ascent  he  will 
find  it  advantageous,  just  as  the  gears  mesh,  to  race  the  engine, 
at  the  same  time  not  slamming  the  clutch  in,  but  letting  it  slip 
slightly  for  the  first  few  yards. 

In  the  light  Rover,  a  typical  British  machine,  the  gears, 
which  consist  of  three  forward  and  a  reverse,  have  to  be  oper- 
ated in  a  somewhat  different  manner.  In  changing  from  the 
first  to  the  second  the  action  should  be  comparatively  steady, 
and  the  clutch  taken  out  sharply.  In  changing  from  the  sec- 
ond to  the  high  speed  the  action  should  be  very  rapid  and 
sharp,  both  as  regards  the  clutch  and  the  gear  lever.  In 
changing  down,  the  greatest  difficulty  is  getting  cleanly  from 
the  third  to  the  second.  It  is  essential  that  the  speed  of  the 
car  should  have  dropped  sufficiently ;  in  fact,  a  better  change 
can  be  effected  if  the  speed  is  allowed  to  drop  below  the  pace 
of  the  second  speed.  The  lever  should  be  operated  compara- 
tively slowly,  the  driver  feeling  his  way,  and  operating  the 
clutch  pedal  with  a  series  of  little  taps  should  the  pinions  not 
slip  into  mesh  smoothly.  No  attempt  should  be  made  to  force 
the  gear  should  the  pinions  grind,  but  the  driver  should  con- 
tinue tapping  the  clutch  pedal  and  pressing  gently  on  the  lever. 


14  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

In  fact,  after  a  touch  or  two  to  the  clutch  pedal  to  allow  the 
gear  wheels  in  engagement  to  come  out  of  mesh  easily  the 
change  can  often  be  effected  while  the  clutch  is  actually  in 
operation.  This  applies  to  some  other  cars  also,  more  espe- 
cially when  a  driver  wants  to  change  from  a  high  speed  to  a 
lower  one  when  running  light  on  the  level — in  traffic,  for  ex- 
ample— or  down  hill. 

In  the  case  of  the  English  Rover  it  is  not  difficult  to  get  into 
the  low  speed,  and  the  operation  is  somewhat  the  same  as  al- 
ready described. 

In  the  Argyll  car,  manufactured  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  there 
are  three  speeds  forward  and  a  reverse,  and  it  is  an  easy  car  to 
effect  a  clean  change  with,  due  to  the  special  system  adopted. 
In  the  case  of  the  second  and  third  speeds  the  gear  wheels 
are  always  in  mesh,  and  the  change  is  effected  by  dog" 
clutches.  The  low  speed  is,  however,  operated  by  sliding  pin- 
ions. The  most  important  feature  of  the  design,  from  a  gear 
changing  point  of  view,  is  that  the  operating  gear  is  spring 
controlled.  The  driver,  therefore,  cannot  force  either  the  gear- 
wheel faces  or  the  dog-clutch  faces  into  contact  with  each 
other.  All  he  can  do  is  to  bring  them  into  position,  so  to 
speak,  and  the  spring  pressure  slips  them  into  engagement 
when  the  right  moment  arrives. 

In  the  type  fitted  to  the  lighter  De  Dion  cars  the  pinions 
are  always  in  mesh,  and  expanding  clutches  effect  the  change. 
In  the  Winton  type,  also,  the  wheels  are  in  mesh,  and  the  gear 
changing  is  effected  by  bringing  friction  cone  clutches  into 
operation,  as  described  under  Change  Speed  Gear.  In  both 
these  types  it  is  advisable  to  make  the  change  gradually,  so 
as  to  allow  the  clutch  to  slip  slightly  at  first  and  thus  take  up 
the  drive  smoothly. 

In  the  epicyclic  type,  as  fitted  to  the  English  Lanchester 
and  the  early  Duryea,  Oldsmobile,  and  other  American  cars, 
the  gear  wheels  are  also  in  mesh,  and  the  application  of  band 
brakes,  which  must  be  gradually  applied,  effects  the  change. 

Generally  speaking,  changes  "up"  should  be  sharp  and 
quick  to  prevent  any  loss  of  momentum  in  the  car,  while 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  15 

changes  "down"  should  be  effected  more  slowly,  just  allowing 
the  gears,  under  slight  hand  pressure,  to  slip  in  of  their  own 
accord  when  the  engine  speed  has  increased  to  the  necessary 
extent.  There  should  then  be  no  noise. 

Use  of  the  Clutch. 

The  condition  of  the  clutch  is  all  important.  If  it  is  fierce 
it  is  impossible  to  take  up  the  drive  gradually,  and  great 
strain  is  caused  to  the  engine,  gear,  transmission  system  and 
tires.  The  care  of  the  clutch  is  an  essential  factor  of 
good  driving  and  is  fully  dealt  with  elsewhere  under  this 
heading.  In  starting,  the  clutch  should  be  brought  into  opera- 
tion so  gradually  that  the  car  moves  off  without  the  slightest 
jerk.  In  gear  changing,  the  clutch  action  should  be  sympa- 
thetic and  should  synchronize  with  the  gear-changing  effort. 
There  should  be  no  undue  hesitation  in  letting  the  clutch  into 
operation  again,  but  at  the  same  time  this  should  be  effected 
so  that  there  is  no  jerk  in  taking  up  the  drive.  In  changing  up, 
especially,  this  is  important.  If  the  change  is  very  rapid 
when  changing  down,  the  clutch  can  as  a  rule  be  let  right- 
home,  for  the  pace  of  the  car  will  not  have  dropped  below  the 
speed  represented  by  the  gear  on  to  which  the  driver  has 
dropped.  If,  however,  the  driver  is  unskilful  and  changes 
slowly,  or  if  the  gears  are  badly  designed  or  constructed  and 
do  not  therefore  change  at  once,  it  is  essential  that  the  clutch 
should  be  let  slip  slightly  so  as  to  take  up  the  drive  gradually, 
otherwise  there  will  be  an  injurious  jerk.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
the  clutch  is  slipped  too  much  the  car  may  continue  to  slow 
down — in  extreme  cases  to  such  an  extent  that  the  engine  will 
not  be  able  to  take  the  gear  without  laboring  unduly — which 
may  necessitate  dropping  on  to  a  still  lower  gear.  Also,  if 
the  clutch  is  withdrawn  in  traffic,  so  that  the  pace  slows,  it 
should  be  let  in  again  very  gradually.  Or  if  the  car  is  run- 
ning free  downhill,  and  has  attained  a  greater  pace  than 
corresponds  with  the  speed  of  the  particular  gear  which  hap- 
pens to  be  in  mesh,  the  same  precaution  should  be  observed. 

Clutch  slipping,  of  course,  causes  a  certain  amount  of  wear 


16  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

on  the  clutch  faces,  and  consequently  should  not  be  unduly 
resorted  to,  as  when  checking  the  pace  in  traffic  or  nursing1 
the  car  over  the  crest  of  a  hill  in  order  to  avoid  the  necessity 
of  changing  gear.  Generally  speaking,  it  is  better  to  change 
under  such  circumstances.  Properly  constructed  plate  or  disk 
clutches,  working  in  oil,  can  be  slipped  to  a  greater  extent 
without  undue  wear  than  cone  or  expanding  clutches.  In 
fact,  in  the  case  of  some  plate- clutches  drivers  report  that  they 
have  found  it  possible  by  slipping  the  clutch  to  run  at  such  a 
crawling  pace  on  the  high  gear  as  would  otherwise  be  im- 
possible without  causing  the  engine  to  labor,  and  nevertheless, 
after  a  whole  season's  use,  the  wear  was  hardly  appreciable. 

The  Control  Levers. 

The  power  of  the  engine  is  affected  by  the  control  levers, 
and  consequently  excessive  movement  of  the  same,  unless 
carrid  out  gradually,  will  vary  the  power  of  the  engine  so 
rapidly  as  to  cause  undue  strain  on  engine,  transmission  sys- 
tems, and  tires,  just  as  in  the  case  of  a  fierce  clutch  let  into  en- 
gagement suddenly.  In  the  case  of  some  carbureters  such 
sudden  and  excessive  movement  will  absolutely  upset  the 
carburation,  and  consequently  may  affect  the  power  tempo- 
rarily to  such  an  extent  that  the  driver  who  thus  advances  his 
ignition  and  carburation  levers  to  the  utmost,  with  the  object 
of  getting  the  maximum  of  power,  may  get  an  exactly  opposite 
result — in  extreme  cases  to  such  an  extent  that  it  may  be  nec- 
essary to  change  on  to  a  lower  speed  to  allow  the  engine  to 
pick  up  again.  Such  conditions  are  sometimes  accompanied 
by  popping  in  the  carbureter.  Of  course,  some  automatic 
carbureters  are  proof  against  such  inconsiderate  treatment, 
but  there  are  very  few  which  are  not  influenced  more  or  less. 

In  some  cases  the  governor  is  designed  to  control  the  igni- 
tion, carburation,  and  throttle,  or  any  two  of  them  in  syn- 
chronism, with  the  object  of  making  the  control  as  nearly  proof 
as  possible  against  misuse. 

Taking  it  for  granted,  however,  that  there  are  control  levers 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  17 

for  the  driver  to  operate,  we  shall  now  give  a  few  detailed 
hints  as  to  their  manipulation. 

The  ignition  lever  should  never  be  fully  retarded,  except 
when  starting  the  engine.  The  reason  is  simple.  Under  such 
circumstances  the  combustion  of  the  gas  takes  place  so  late 
that  much  of  the  power  is  lost,  and  it  is  still  in  an  ignited  and 
partly  consumed  condition  when  the  exhaust  valve  opens, 
with  the  result  that  the  engine  is  excessively  heated.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  ignition  should  never  be  advanced  to  the  full 
unless  the  engine  is  running  at  its  highest  speed.  It  will, 
therefore,  be  seen  that  a  medium  position  is  the  best  for  gen- 
eral purposes,  whether  the  throttle  is  fully  opened  or  not,  and 
should  only  be  altered  when  the  speed  of  the  engine  is  ap- 
proaching its  maximum  or  minimum.  When  the  engine  is 
running  idle,  the  lever  might  be  midway  between  the  medium 
and  the  fully  retarded  position,  and  when  it  is  running  faster, 
but  not  accelerated,  it  might  be  between  the  medium  and 
the  fully  advanced  position. 

Briefly,  the  driver  should  bear  in  mind  that  to  get  the  best 
results  he  should  use  the  best  possible  mixture  and  explode  it 
at  the  best  possible  time,  that  is,  just  as  the  piston  is  about  to 
descend  on  its  down  stroke.  He  must  also  bear  in  mind  that 
combustion  is  not  instantaneous,  and  that  the  more  the  mixture 
errs  from  theoretically  correct  proportions  the  slower  is  the 
combustion,  so  that  in  such  cases  it  may  be  necessary  to 
advance  the  ignition  somewhat  further  than  if  the  mixture 
is  perfect.  The  same  result  follows  if  the  spark  is  very  feeble 
through  the  battery  running  out,  short  circuits,  or  some  such 
cause.  He  must  also  bear  in  mind,  that  -in  the  case  of  high 
tension  ignition — whether  by  coil  and  battery  or  by  magneto 
— there  is  a  distinct  "lag"  in  the  coil,  which  slightly  delays  the 
period  of  combustion,  whereas  with  low  tension  magneto  igni- 
tion there  is  no  lag.  There  is  one  other  point  too  in  connection 
with  the  latter  ignition.  The  spark  is  rather  of  the  nature  of 
a  flame  than  a  spark,  so  that  the  combustion  is  more  instan- 
taneous. Therefore,  the  range  of  effective  movement  of  the 
ignition  lever  is  reduced.  This  peculiarity  is  so  pronounced 


18  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

that  some  firms  make  no  provision  for  varying  the  timing  of 
the  spark  except  for  starting  purposes.  This  subject  is  more 
easily  mastered  after  a  study  of  the  various  ignition  systems. 

The  carburation  lever,  where  such  is  fitted,  controls  the 
quality  of  the  gas,  and  the  operator  should  seek  by  experiment 
to  insure  the  best  possible  mixture  under  all  conditions,  al- 
ways bearing  in  mind  that  it  is  better  to  err  on  the  side  of 
too  much  air  than  too  much  gas,  because  an  over-rich  mix- 
ture not  only  prevents  the  engine  from  giving  its  full  power, 
as  in  the  case  of  an  over-weak  mixture,  but  has  the  additional 
disadvantage  that  it  fouls  the  plugs,  combustion  chamber,  etc., 
and  causes  overheating,  in  addition  to  a  most  pungent  smell. 

As  a  rule  the  throttle  control  is  connected  up  to  the  gov- 
ernor, and  a  throttle  lever  on  the  steering  wheel  restrains  the 
action  of  the  governor,  so  that  the  driver  can  by  its  manipula- 
tion make  the  engine  run  at  any  speed  between  the  minimum 
and  the  maximum.  In  other  cars  an  accelerator  lever  or  pedal 
is  fitted,  by  means  of  which  the  driver  can  cut  the  governor 
out  of  action  altogether,  and  the  engine  will  then,  practically 
speaking,  race.  In  this  case  the  throttle  lever  is  used,  through 
the  medium  of  the  governor,  to  vary  the  speed  and  consequent- 
ly the  power  of  the  engine  within  the  normal  and  minimum 
speeds,  the  ignition  lever  being  operated  in  sympathy. 

The  accelerator  lever  or  pedal  should  only  be  used  to  race 
the  engine  under  exceptional  circumstances,  that  is  to  say, 
when  the  very  highest  speed  of  the  car  is  desired,  or  when 
the  driver  wishes  to  rush  a  hill.  Many  automobilists  possessed 
by  the  speed  craze  habitually  race  their  engines,  thus  causing 
excessive  wear  and  tear.  It  is  a  great  mistake,  and  results  in 
infinite  trouble  later  on. 

As  already  mentioned,  the  throttle  lever  should  be  operated 
gradually,  whether  it  is  desired  to  increase  or  diminish  the 
speed  of  the  engine.  Sometimes,  but  rarely,  an  entirely  in- 
dependent throttle  lever  is  used  to  control  the  speed  of  the 
engine,  and  it  also  should  be  moved  gradually. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  19 

Use  of  Engine  Control  Levers. 

The  speed  and  power  of  the  engine  are  controlled  by  means 
of  hand  and  foot  levers,  as  follows: 

Ignition — On  steering  wheel. 

Throttle — On  steering  wheel. 

Governor — For  cutting  out  the  governor  at  any  desired 
point. 

Carburation — Generally  on  dashboard ;  used  for  varying  the 
mixture,  but  now  seldom  fitted  owing  to  the  popularity  of  au- 
tomatic carbureters.  As  a  rule,  it  is  not  connected  with  any 
other  control.  In  the  Talbot,  however,  the  extra  air  inlet  is 
inter-connected  with  the  ignition  lever,  so  that  on  advancing 
the  spark,  as  when  the  engine  is  running  fast,  extra  air  is  ad- 
mitted. 

The  Accelerator  Pedal  may  act  as  follows: 

(1)  On  the  throttle  direct,  so  that,  although  the  throttle 
lever  on  the  steering  wheel  is  set  at  a  partially  open  posi- 
tion of  the  throttle,  the  depression  of  the  accelerator  pedal 
will  open  it  fully  without  altering  the  position  of  the  lever, 
and  when  the  pedal   is  released  the  throttle  will  return  to 
the  position  decided  by  the  position  of  the  lever  on  the  wheel. 

(2)  On  the  ignition,  so  that  normally  the  engine  runs  with 
the  ignition  partially  retarded,  but  when  the  accelerator  pedal 
is  depressed  the  ignition  is  advanced.    In  this  case  the  accel- 
erator pedal  is  generally  coupled  up  to  the  throttle  as  well  as 
to  the  ignition,  and  there  is  no  ignition  lever  on  the  steering 
wheel. 

(3)  On  the  governor  (when  such  is  fitted),  which  is  set 
normally  to  keep   the   engine  from  running  above   a  prede- 
termined speed.    In  this  case  the  accelerator  pedal  is  aranged 
to  hold  the  governor  up  against  the  action  of  centrifugal  force, 
and  on  being  put  in  action  allows  the  engine  to  attain  a  higher 
speed  than  that  to  which  the  governor  would  otherwise  have 
restrained  it. 

(4)  In  combination  with  a  hand  lever  on  the  steering  wheel, 
which  will  control  the  point  at  which  the  governor  will  not 
allow  any  further  rise  in  the  speed  of  the  engine,  and  which 


20  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

can  also  be  used  to  control  the  engine  speed  should  the  driver 
elect  not  to  use  the  accelerator  pedal.  At  whatever  point  the 
lever  is  left  the  governor  will  cut  out,  but  if  the  accelerator 
pedal  is  depressed,  it  nullifies  this  action  and  allows  the  en- 
gine to  increase  its  speed  up  to  the  maximum  at  which  it  is 
set  to  run. 

(5)  Or  it  may  be  coupled  both  to  throttle  and  ignition  as 
before,  so  as  to  advance  ignition  and  open  the  throttle  more 
fully  than  they  are  set  by  the  two  hand  levers  on  the  steer- 
ing wheel,  and,  when  released,  to  return  them  to  the  posi- 
tions fixed  by  the  position  of  these  levers.    In  this  case  there 
is  no  governor. 

(6)  It  may  also  be  used  in  connection  with  the  governor 
which  controls  the  throttle,  as  in  case  (3),  and  at  the  same 
time  to  advance  the  ignition. 

(7)  It  may  also  be  used  in  the  same  way  to  advance  the 
ignition  as  well  as  to  put  the  governor  in  operation  as  de- 
scribed in  case   (4),  where  a  hand  lever  is  used  in  combina- 
tion with  a  governor. 

Principles  of  Gear  Changing. 

It  should  be  understood  that  whenever  two  wheels  have 
to  be  put  into  gear  with  each  other,  their  edges,  or  periphery, 
or  teeth,  whichever  term  may  be  used,  should  be  moving  at 
the  same  speed.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  wheels  should 
be  rotating  at  the  same  speed.  Only  when  both  wheels  are 
of  the  same  diameter  will  this  be  the  case.  When  they  are  of 
different  sizes  the  smaller  wheel  will  rotate  faster  than  the 
other,  though  the  speed  of  its  teeth — that  is,  the  distance  they 
travel — will  necessarily  be  the  same  during  any  given  period 
of  time.  Any  tooth  on  the  small  wheel  will,  of  course,  travel 
a  complete  circle,  while  a  tooth  on  the  bigger  wheel  will  not 
have  completed  a  circle  on  account  of  the  larger  circumference. 

The  Peripheral  Speed  of  two  unequal  wheels  in  gear  with 
each  other  remains  the  same. 

The  Angular  Velocity,  or  the  time  taken  by  the  wheel  to 
travel  through  a  certain  angle  of  its  circle,  varies. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  21 

The  beginner  should  first  get  the  following  facts  into  his 
head: 

WHEN  CHANGING  UP— Neutral  to  low  speed.  Primary 
shaft  revolving;  secondary  shaft  idle.  Low  speed  to  second; 
second  to  third ;  third  to  fourth.  Primary  shaft  with  its  gear 
wheels  running  comparatively  fast ;  secondary  shaft  compara- 
tively slowly.  As  one  goes  up  the  scale  the  difference  in 
speed  of  the  shafts  becomes  less. 

WHEN  CHANGING  DOWN— Primary  shaft  with  its 
gear  wheels  running  comparatively  slowly ;  secondary  shaft 
with  its  gear  wheels  comparatively  fast.  As  one  descends  the 
scale  the  difference  in  speed  of  the  shafts  increases.  In  most 
cases,  when  running  on  the  fourth  speed,  the  primary  and 
secondary  shafts  are  revolving  at  the  same  rate.  The  effect 
is  the  same,  however,  as  the  primary  shaft  has  to  be  slowed 
to  allow  the  smaller  third  speed  wheel  on  it  to  mesh  with  the 
larger  third  speed  wheel  on  the  secondary. 

To  make  a  clean  change,  therefore,  when  changing  up,  de- 
press the  clutch  firmly  and  rapidly,  and  operate  the  lever  with 
deliberation  at  first,  but  quicker  when  changing  from  second 
to  third  and  third  to  fourth. 

When  changing  down,  take  the  clutch  out  comparatively 
slowly,  so  as  to  allow  it  to  slip,  and  operate  the  lever  gently 
and  deliberately. 

A  study  of  the  appended  diagrams,  Figs.  I,  2,  3,  4,  and  5, 
will  make  our  meaning  plainer.  A,  B,  C,  and  D  represent  the 
gear  wheels  on  the  primary  shaft  of  a  four-speed  Panhard  type 
of  gear,  in  which  the  drive  is  indirect  on  all  speeds;  Ai,  Bi, 
Ci,  and  Di  represent  the  gear  wheels  on  the  secondary  shaft. 
X  represents  the  primary  shaft,  on  which  are  mounted  the 
gear  wheels  A,  B,  C,  and  D.  This  primary  shaft,  as  its  name 
implies,  is  directly  connected  with  the  clutch  shaft,  and  so 
takes  the  drive  directly  from  the  engine.  Y  is  the  secondary 
shaft,  on  which  are  mounted  the  gear  wheels  Ai,  Bi,  Ci,  and 
Di,  and  from  the  rear  end  of  which  the  power  is  transmitted 
to  the  road  wheels. 


22  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

When  the  gear  lever  is  in  the  neutral  notch,  all  the  gear 
wheels  are  out  of  mesh  with  each  other,  and  consequently, 
although  the  engine  revolves  the  shaft  X,  the  power  is  not 
communicated  to  the  shaft  Y,  which,  provided  the  car  is  at 
rest,  does  not  revolve.  If,  however,  the  car  is  running  free, 
the  turning  of  the  road  wheels  will  necessarily  revolve  the 
secondary  shaft  Y  with  its  gear  wheels. 

Neutral  to  Low  Speed — Now,  taking  it  for  granted  that 
the  car  is  at  rest  and  the  engine  running,  it  is  necessary,  be- 
fore the  power  can  be  communicated  to  the  road  wheels, 
that  one  of  the  gear  wheels  on  the  primary  shaft  X  be  moved 
into  mesh  with  one  of  the  gear  wheels  on  the  secondary  shaft 
Y.  Naturally,  the  low  speed  wheels  will  be  the  first  to  be 
brought  into  mesh.  In  other  words,  in  order  to  start  the  car, 


FIG.    i  —THE  VARYING  DIAMETERS  OF  THE  WHEELS. 

the  very  small  wheel  or  pinion  A  will  be  moved  into  mesh 
with  the  very  large  wheel  Ai. 

Now,  the  car  being  at  rest,  but  the  engine  running,  shaft 
Y  (including  wheel  Ai)  will  be  motionless,  but  shaft  X  (in- 
cluding pinion  A)  will  be  revolving.  If  an  attempt  were  made 
to  get  into  the  low  speed  while  this  condition  of  affairs  ex- 
isted, the  teeth  of  A  would  grind  against  the  teeth  of  Ai. 
Consequently,  the  operator  must  take  the  clutch  wholly  out 
of  engagement  and  wait  a  few  moments  until  it  has  ceased 
revolving.  Shaft  X,  and  with  it  pinion  A,  will  then  have  come 
to  rest,  and  A  and  Ai  can  be  brought  into  engagement  with 
each  other  without  grinding.  (See  Fig.  2.)  Should  the  teeth 
come  right  opposite  each  other  and  refuse  to  engage,  replace 
the  gear  lever  in  the  neutral  notch,  let  the  clutch  into  engage- 
ment for  the  fraction  of  a  second,  and  try  again. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


23 


In  getting  into  the  reverse,  the  same  programme  should  be 
followed. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  clutch  shaft  will  not  stop 
revolving  when  the  clutch  pedal  is  depressed.  This  is  gen- 
erally due  to  the  clutch  leather  having  swelled,  or,  in  a  plate 
or  disk  clutch,  to  the  plates  or  disks  sticking  together.  It 
may  also  be  due  to  insufficient  lubrication  of  the  spigot  bear- 
ing. 

To  change  from  neutral  into  tKe  low  speed  or  reverse  is, 
under  these  circumstances,  very  difficult.  The  best  plan  is 
to  slow  the  engine  as  much  as  possible,  then  suddenly  close 
the  throttle  altogether,  operate  the  gear  lever,  and  then  re- 
open the  throttle  before  the  engine  has  stopped  revolving. 
The  teeth  of  the  gear  wheels  will  probably  grind  a  little,  but 


FIG.    a.— POSITION  ON   LOW   SPEED. 

A,  At,  Low  speed  wheels.  D.Di,  Top  speed  wheels. 

B,  Bi,  Second  speed  wheels.  X,  Primary   Shaft. 

C,  Ci,  Third  speed  wheels.  Y,  Secondary  shaft. 

almost  at  the  first  touch  the  primary  shaft,  which,  of  course, 
is  moving  very  slowly,  will  cease  revolving,  allowing  the  teeth 
to  mesh.  The  condition  of  the  clutch  should  be  attended  to  at 
the  first  opportunity  and  the  defect  remedied. 

From  Low  Speed  to  Second — To  change  from  the  low  to 
the  second  speed,  A  must  be  taken  out  of  engagement  with 
Ai,  and  B  moved  into  engagement  with  Bi.  It  will  be 
noticed,  however,  that  A  is  very  much  smaller  than  Ai.  Con- 
sequently, while  A  and  Ai  are  in  mesh,  shaft  Y  (including 
wheel  Ai)  will  be  revolving  very  much  slower  than  shaft  X 
(including  pinion  A).  It  will  be  also  noticed  that  there  is  a 
considerable  disparity  between  the  sizes  of  wheels  B  and  Bi 


24 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


'(which  must  be  brought  into  mesh  for  the  second  speed), 
though  the  difference  is  not  so  great  as  between  A  and  Ai. 
As  already  explained,  however,  it  is  essential,  if  a  clean  change 
is  to  be  made,  that  the  teeth  of  B  and  Bi  should  be  moving 
approximately  at  the  same  speed  when  they  are  brought  to- 
gether. In  other  words,  the  speed  of  shaft  X  has  to  be  re- 
duced. (See  Fig.  3.) 

To  accomplish  this,  the  clutch  must  be  sharply  and  wholly 
withdrawn  just  as  A  and  Ai  are  taken  out  of  mesh,  and  the 
gear  lever  moved  gently  into  the  second  speed  notch,  so  that 
there  will  be  an  appreciable  interval  in  making  the  change, 
just  sufficient  and  no  more,  to  allow  the  shaft  X,  which  is 
then  disconnected  from  the  clutch  shaft,  to  slow  down,  so 


FIG.  3.— POSITION  ON  SECOND  SPEED. 


that  the  teeth  of  the  two  wheels  are  traveling  at  the  same 
speed. 

There  are  other  factors,  however,  which  complicate  the 
movement,  and  render  great  judgment  and  experience  neces- 
sary to  effect  an  absolutely  clean  change.  For  example,  if 
the  car  is  running  on  the  level  when  the  clutch  is  withdrawn, 
the  pace  will  not  drop  appreciably  in  the  brief  interval  of  time 
necessary  for  changing,  and,  consequently,  the  road  wheels 
will  continue  to  drive  shaft  Y  at  almost  the  same  number  of 
revolutions  per  minute  as  it  was  revolving  before  A  and  Ai 
were  taken  out  of  mesh.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  actual 
movement  of  the  gear  lever  forward  need  not  take  more  time 
than  about  one  second,  if  as  much,  the  period  depending  to 
some  extent  on  the  weight  of  the  clutch,  and  also  the  position 
of  the  throttle,  for  if  it  is  comparatively  open  the  engine  will 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


25 


race  when  the  load  is  taken  off  it,  and,  therefore,  as  the  clutch 
comes  out,  it  will  start  revolving  faster.  If,  however,  the  car 
is  running  up  a  slight  grade  when  the  change  is  being  made, 
it  will  lose  speed  more  rapidly,  and,  consequently,  it  may  re- 
quire a  slightly  longer  interval — a  small  fraction  of  a  second 
longer,  probably — to  allow  shaft  X  to  slow  down  sufficiently 
to  permit  of  B  meshing  cleanly  with  Bi.  Of  course,  if  too 
long  an  interval  is  allowed,  the  car  will  have  slowed  down 
so  much  before  the  change  is  effected  that  the  engine  will  not 
be  able  to  pick  up  the  higher  gear. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  car  is  running  down-hill  when 
the  change  is  being  made,  it  will  increase  in  speed  when  the 
clutch  is  withdrawn,  thus  causing  Y  to  revolve  more  rapidly 


FIG.  4.— POSITION  ON  THIRD  SPEED. 

than  before,  and  necessitating  a  less  gradual  change.  The 
delay  in  moving  the  lever  is  in  all  cases,  however,  very  slight. 
In  fact,  there  need  be  no  actual  stop,  but  rather  a  'gradual 
steady  push  forward.  If  the  movement  is  too  slow,  the  speed 
of  shaft  X  will  drop  too  much  relatively  to  that  of  shaft  Y, 
and  the  teeth  of  B  and  Bi  will  grind.  It  will  then  be  neces- 
sary to  let  the  clutch  into  engagement  again  for  a  fraction  of 
a  second  so  as  to  speed  shaft  X  up  a  little,  and  to  then  continue 
the  operation  of  pushing  the  change  speed  lever  into  the  sec- 
ond speed  notch. 

Second  to  Third — In  changing  from  second  speed  to  third, 
the  same  procedure  will  have  to  be  followed,  but  as  we  go 
up  the  scale  the  movement  should  be  less  gradual  owing  to 
the  disparity  in  size  between  the  primary  and  secondary  gear 


26 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


wheels  C  and  Cl  (Fig.  4)  being  less,  and  consequently  the 
difference  in  the  speed  of  revolution  of  shafts,  X  and  Y  will 
also  be  less. 

Third  to  Fourth — In  changing  from  the  third  to  fourth 
speed,  it  is  generally  unnecessary  to  make  any  pause  what- 
ever, but  to  manipulate  the  lever  with  a  quick,  decisive  mo- 
tion, for  in  this  case  shaft  X  is  not  revolving  much  faster  than 
shaft  Y  at  the  moment  that  C  and  Ci  are  taken  out  of  mesh, 
and  wheels  D  and  Di  are  of  equal  size.  (See  Fig.  5.) 

If  there  is  considerable  friction  between  the  male  and  fe- 
male portions  of  the  clutch  so  that  it  takes  an  appreciable 
time  for  the  male  portion  to  come  wholly  out  of  engagement, 
the  slowing  down  of  shaft  X  will  take  longer  than  otherwise. 


X 


FIG.  5.— POSITION  ON  TOP  SPEED. 


If,  however,  there  is  a  clutch  stop  fitted,  shaft  X  will  slow 
down  very  rapidly  indeed,  and  the  movement  of  the  lever 
when  changing  up  should  be  rapid. 

Should  the  driver  miss  gear  when  changing  up,  he  had  better 
let  the  clutch  into  engagement  for  the  fraction  of  a  second, 
return  to  the  gear  he  was  on  before,  and  then  try  again. 

Changing  Down — When  changing  down,  the  condition  ex- 
isting as  to  the  relative  speeds  of  shafts  X  and  Y  renders 
necessary  a  reversal  of  the  operations.  Starting  with  the 
fourth  speed,  it  will  be  seen  in  the  diagram  that  the  gear 
wheels  D  and  Di  are  the  same  size.  Sometimes  D  is  bigger 
than  Di — generally  when  a  direct  third  speed  is,;1itted.  If 
D  and  Di  are  the  same  size,  shafts  X  and  Y  will  revolve  at 
the  same  speed,  but  if  D  is  the  bigger,  X  will  revolve  slower 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  27 

than  Y.  The  third  speed  wheel  Ci  will,  of  course,  be  revolv- 
ing at  the  same  speed  as  Di.  C,  however,  being  a  smaller 
wheel,  will  have  to  rotate  quicker  than  Ci,  to  insure  the  teeth 
meshing,  and  consequently  the  shaft  X  will  have  to  be  quick- 
ened so  as  to  enable  these  two  wheels  to  mesh  easily.  The 
same  applies  to  B  and  Bi  and  A  and  Ai ;  but  as  the  disparity 
in  size  is  greater  as  lower  speed  gears  are  reached,  the  shaft 
X  will  have  to  be  speeded  up  proportionately. 

This  speeding  up  of  shaft  X  is  accomplished  by  slipping 
the  clutch — that  is,  by  not  taking  it  wholly  out  of  engage- 
ment as  when  changing  up,  but  by  allowing  the  male  portion 
to  remain  slightly  in  contact  with  the  female.  What  is  neces- 
sary is  that  the  clutch  should  be  so  far  withdrawn  as  to  ease 
the  pressure  of  the  teeth  against  each  other,  so  that  the  gears 
may  be  moved  out  of  mesh.  As  soon  as  they  come  out  of 
mesh,  the  clutch,  still  having  a  certain  hold  of  the  shaft, 
which  is  now  free  from  the  driving  strain,  rotates  the  latter 
at  an  accelerated  speed  owing  to  the  engine  automatically  ac- 
celerating when  the  load  is  taken  off. 

The  amount  of  slipping  necessary  can  only  be  found  by 
experience  and  experiment.  As  the  different  stages  between 
high  and  low  are  reached,  the  disparity  between  the  size  of 
the  gear  wheels  increases  and,  consequently,  shaft  Y  has  to 
be  increasingly  accelerated. 

When  changing  into  the  reverse,  the  driver  should  be  very 
careful  not  to  attempt  to  make  the  change  until  the  road 
wheels  have  come  to  rest.  It  is  wise  also  to  keep  the  clutch 
out,  before  making  the  change,  sufficiently  long  to  insure  the 
primary  shaft  coming  to  rest. 

We  have  dealt  with  the  Panhard  system  because  it  is  more 
simple  to  explain  with  it  what  is  necessary  in  gear  changing. 
In  other  gears,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Mercedes  type,  in  which  a 
direct  drive  is  obtained,  and  in  which  the  power  is  transmitted 
to  a  countershaft  and  back  to  an  extension  of  the  primary 
shaft,  exactly  the  same  conditions  obtain,  and  exactly  the 
same  methods  of  changing  must  be  adopted. 

If  the  countershaft  in  this  case  is  regarded  as  the  primary, 


28  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

which  it  practically  is,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  in  reality  a 
Panhard  type.  In  such  cases,  however,  the  direct  top  gear 
is  easier  to  get  into  owing  to  it  being  accomplished  by  engag- 
ing some  form  of  dog  clutch  instead  of  sliding  wheels  into 
mesh  sideways. 

So  far  we  have  dealt  with  general  principles.  There  are 
other  factors  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  however,  such 
as  the  speed  of  the  engine  at  the  moment  of  changing  and 
the  variations  in  different  designs.  We  shall  deal  with  the 
engine  speed  first. 

The  Engine  Speed  as  a  Factor. 

It  will  be  easily  understood  that,  if  the  engine  is  driving 
with  the  throttle  open,  or  nearily  open,  as  the  clutch  is  with- 
drawn, the  engine  will  race  as  the  load  has  been  taken  off. 
Hence,  there  will  be  a  brief  period,  at  the  moment  when  the 
male  portion  of  the  clutch  is  just  coming  out  of  engagement 
with  the  female,  when  the  acceleration  of  the  latter  will  cause 
a  considerable  increase  in  the  revolution  speed  of  the  male 
portion,  and,  as  the  male  portion  drives  the  shaft  X,  there 
will  also  be  an  increase  of  speed  in  the  shaft  X.  This  increase 
of  speed  will,  needless  to  say,  further  increase  the  difficulty 
of  making  a  clean  change. 

The  exception  to  this  is  in  the  case  of  those  gears  which 
have  a  direct  third  speed  and  an  indirect  fourth  speed ;  or 
where  the  secondary  shaft  is  idle  on  the  direct  gear.  In  the 
former  the  car  is  geared  up  on  the  top  speed,  and,  therefore, 
the  operation  of  gear  changing  will  be  modified  accordingly. 
In  the  latter  case,  changing  gear  from  top  to  next  gear  will  be 
rendered  easier. 

To  obviate  this  difficulty,  it  is  a  common  practice  to  take 
the  foot  off  the  accelerator,  or  operate  the  throttle  lever,  as 
the  case  may  be,  at  the  moment  that  the  clutch  is  withdrawn, 
thus  preventing  the  engine  from  racing  when  the  load  is  taken 
off  it.  The  moment  the  change  of  gear  has  been  effected,  it 
is  necessary  for  the  driver  to  push  down  the  accelerator  pedal 
again  or  operate  the  throttle  lever  without  a  moment's  delay. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  29 

In  some  cases  the  clutch  pedal  is  connected  up  to  the  throttle, 
and  partly  closes  it  when  the  clutch  is  withdrawn.  On  the 
level  or  down  hill  the  closing  of  the  throttle,  and  consequent 
slowing  of  the  engine,  works  admirably,  but  on  an  up-grade 
it  tends  to  reduce  the  power  of  the  engine  so  much  at  a 
critical  period  that,  unless  the  change  is  made  very  quickly 
and  the  throttle  opened  again  with  the  least  possible  delay,  the 
engine  either  picks  up  very  slowly  or  else  fails  to  pick  up  at 
all,  so  that  when  changing  up  on  an  ascent  it  may  become 
necessary  to  drop  back  to  the  lower  gear,  or,  when  changing 
down,  to  drop  a  stage  farther  on  to  a  still  lower  gear. 

It  is  when  changing  up  that  the  difficulty  is  greatest.  As 
already  explained,  it  is  necessary  that  shaft  X  should  be 
slowed,  and  that  as  quickly  as  possible,  for  every  moment  that 
elapses  while  the  clutch  is  out  the  car  is  losing  its  momentum 
and  slowing  down.  This  slows  down  shaft  Y  (which  was  al- 
ready  traveling  much  slower  than  shaft  X),  consequently  it 
adds  still  further  to  the  difference  between  the  speed  of  the 
two  shafts.  In  other  words,  if  shaft  X  accelerates  abnormally 
at  the  moment  the  clutch  is  being  withdrawn,  it  means  a 
longer  wait  to  allow  it  to  slow,  and  during  this  longer  wait  Y 
is  also  steadily  slowing  down  through  the  car  losing  its  momen- 
tum. Hence,  when  the  change  is  at  last  effected,  the  car  has 
slowed  so  much  that  the  engine  may  not  be  able  to  take  up 
the  drive,  and  one  has  to  drop  back  again  to  the  lower  gear. 

Also,  there  is  another  disadvantage.  If  the  clutch  is  let 
in  gradually  when  the  engine  is  racing  furiously,  extreme  fric- 
tion will  be  generated  which  may  burn  the  clutch  leather.  If 
it  is  let  in  suddenly,  the  strain  on  the  engine  and  transmission 
systems  will  be  enormous. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  there  must  not  be  undue 
delay  when  changing  up  on  a  hill,  and  that  the  engine  must 
not  be  allowed  to  race  furiously  while  the  clutch  is  out. 

The  best  practice  is,  immediately  before  changing,  to  throt- 
tle down  to  a  point  which  would  give  in  or  about  normal  en- 
gine speed  with  the  load  off.  Then  change  as  rapidly  as  is 
possible  without  grinding  the  gear  wheels,  and  just  as  the 


30  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

clutch  is  being  let  in  again  (but  before  it  has  fully  engaged), 
open  the  throttle.  The  engine  will  then  be  accelerating  again 
just  as  the  male  portion  of  the  clutch  is  coming  into  frictional 
contact  with  the  female,  and  unless  the  grade  is  too  close  to 
the  limit  of  the  gear  it  will  pick  up  steadily,  even  when  the 
full  load  comes  on. 

When  changing  down  on  an  up-grade  the  difficulty  is  not 
so  great.  To  insure  a  clean  change,  we  want  to  increase  the 
speed  of  shaft  X  as  compared  with  shaft  Y.  The  falling  off 
in  the  momentum  and  speed  of  the  car  will  assist  towards 
this  end  by  reducing  the  speed  of  Y.  Consequently  the  en- 
gine can  be  run  faster  during  the  change  when  changing  down 
than  when  changing  up,  especially  if  the  clutch  is  only  slipped 
slightly  during  the  change;  but,  of  course,  the  engine,  and 
with  it  X,  must  not  be  accelerated  too  much.  The  change, 
as  a  rule,  can  be  made  fairly  rapidly,  and  as  the  engine  is 
running  at  a  reasonably  fast  speed,  it  will  pick  up  well. 

On  the  level  or  down-hill  the  engine  should  always  be  throt- 
tled off,  as  under  such  circumstances  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
picking  up.  The  operator  should  be  careful  that  the  speed  at 
which  the  car  is  traveling  approximates  to  that  to  which  he  is 
about  to  descend,  and,  consequently,  if  he  is  changing  on  the 
level,  for  the  sake  of  traffic  or  such  like,  he  should  first  slow 
down  the  car  by  means  of  the  throttle,  or  by  taking  the  clutch 
out  momentarily.  In  the  latter  case  it  facilitates  changing  to 
let  the  clutch  into  operation  again  for  a  fraction  of  a  second, 
and  declutch  again  slowly  before  effecting  the  change. 

There  is  another  system  of  changing  down  on  a  descent 
which  works  most  satisfactorily,  but  requires  some  learning. 
With  the  throttle  almost  closed,  take  the  clutch  out  of  en- 
gagement, move  the  gears  in  operation  out  of  mesh,  but  then 
pause  with  the  gear  lever  between  the  two  gears ;  next  let  the 
clutch  in  for  a  moment  so  as  to  speed  up  primary  shaft  X, 
declutch  and  change  slowly  into  the  lower  gear.  Under  such 
circumstances,  the  car  is  likely  to  be  traveling  too  fast  for 
the  lower  gear,  and,  consequently,  the  clutch  should  be  let 
into  engagement  very  slowly  or  the  car  speed  will  be  checked 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  31 

with  a  suddenness  that  will  strain  both  engine  and  transmis- 
sion. 

The  Use  of  the  Brakes. 

Nothing  is  more  detrimental  to  a  car  than  the  improper  and 
excessive  use  of  the  brakes.  The  driver  should  bear  in  mind 
that,  no  matter  what  system  is  adopted  of  checking  speed — 
with  the  exception  of  the  forces  of  gravity  or  inertia — a  strain 
is  brought  to  bear  on  the  transmission  system  and  tires,  and 
that  this  strain  becomes  excessive  and  exceedingly  detrimental 
if  the  car  is  checked  or  stopped  with  great  suddenness.  In  most 
cases  the  engine  itself  forms  a  fairly  efficient  brake,  and  acts 
more  smoothly  and  more  gradually  than  is  possible  for  any 
mechanical  brake.  For  this  reason  it  is  less  likely  to  cause 
side-slip.  The  best  way,  therefore,  to  stop  a  car  is  to  grad- 
ually close  the  throttle,  and  the  driver  should  begin  to  do  so 
in  ample  time,  so  that  the  retarding  influence  may^be  as  gentle 
and  gradual  as  possible.  To  get  the  maximum  stopping  effect 
it  is  generally  necessary  to  switch  off  the  ignition,  because  very 
few  throttles  are  so  perfect  in  action  that  a  certain  amount 
of  explosive  mixture  does  not  find  its  way  through.  In  de- 
scending steep  hills,  however,  the  strain  to  the  engine  is  con- 
siderable where  this  method  of  braking  is  solely  employed,  and 
consequently  the  rear  wheel  brakes  should  be  used  to  assist 
the  engine,  for  which  purpose  it  is,  of  course,  necessary  that 
they  should  be  disconnected  from  the  clutch. 

Some  types  of  engine  are  so  designed  that  the  engine  prac- 
tically becomes  an  air  compressor,  and  affords  an  exceedingly 
powerful  and  reliable  form  of  brake.  The  pedal-regulated  cam- 
shaft which  attains  this  end  should  be  gradually  operated,  and 
on  steep  hills  the  hind  wheel  brakes  should  be  used  to  assist 
the  engine. 

As  regards  the  hand  and  foot-applied  brakes,  all  are  agreed 
that  one  should  be  disconnected  from  the  engine,  and  many 
experts  consider  that  this  should  be  done  in  the  case  of  both. 
Of  course  under  such  circumstances  it  is  very  necessary  to  de- 
clutch by  means  of  the  clutch  pedal  when  the  car  is  being 
brought  to  an  absolute  standstill.  These  hand  and  foot-applied 


32  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

brakes  should  invariably  be  applied  gradually,  except  in  the 
case  of  a  sudden  and  serious  emergency.  For  general  applica- 
tion, as  in  traffic  for  example,  the  foot-applied  brake  is  the 
most  convenient,  but  it  causes  the  greatest  amount  of  strain, 
owing  to  the  braking  effort  being  taken  up  through  the  trans- 
mission system.  For  this  reason  the  rear  wheel  brakes  should 
be  used  on  all  steep  down-grades  in  preference  to  the  counter- 
shaft brake,  and  great  care  should  be  observed  to  see  that  the 
compensating  mechanism  is  in  order,  so  that  the  retarding  in- 
fluence on  one  wheel  is  not  greater  than  on  the  other. 

The  driver  should  train  himself  in  the  constant  application 
of  the  hand  brake,  and  he  cannot  do  this  better  than  by  using 
the  hand  brake  exclusively,  say  for  a  week  at  a  time,  so 
that  he  may  instinctively  be  able  to  use  this  brake  quickly  in 
case  of  an  emergency,  instead  of  having  to  fumble  clumsily 
for  the  lever.  Needless  to  say,  it  is  essential  for  safety  that 
all  brakes  should  be  kept  in  perfect  order,  and  it  is  a  wise  pre- 
caution to  test  them  within  the  first  few  minutes  after  start- 
ing. There  is  no  more  hopeless  position  than  to  unexpectedly 
find  one's  brakes  out  of  order  when  called  upon  to  make  a 
sudden  stop. 

Tapping  in  the  Engine. 

Sometimes  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  engine,  which  has  been 
running  perfectly  well  and  easily,  will  begin  to  make  a  slight 
tapping  sound.  It  is  not  sufficiently  pronounced  to  be  called 
a  knock,  and  very  often  it  will  puzzle  the  driver  to  know  what 
it  is  caused  by,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  he  will  be  apt  to 
put  it  down  to  some  slight  peculiarity  of  his  valves.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  is  nothing  of  the  kind,  but  is  due  to  very  slight 
premature  ignition  which  is  easily  remedied. 

One  Cause  of  Irregular  Firing. 

If  one's  engine  is  heard  to  knock  very  violently,  so  much 
so  that  the  first  impression  given  is  that  either  the  crank-shaft 
has  broken  or  the  big  end  bearing  bolts  have  got  adrift,  it  is 
well  before  jumping  at  such  a  conclusion  to  carefully  examine 
the  ignition.  In  one  such  case  which  occurred  at  the  end  of  a 


Operating  Devices— Locomobile. 


The  Jones  Speedometer  Odometer. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  33 

short  tour,  the  engine  started  knocking  so  badly  that  the  owner 
of  the  car  feared  to  run  it  any  further,  and  left  it  some  thirty 
miles  from  home,  wiring  the  makers  that  something  had  gone 
seriously  wrong  with  the  engine.  It  was  ultimately  discovered 
that  the  contact  blade  of  the  commutator  was  fractured  and 
that  the  knock  was  due  entirely  to  irregular  firing  caused 
thereby. 

Want  of  Gasolene:  Its  Symptoms. 

It  is  often  a  simple  thing  which  causes  an  involuntary  stop. 
This  was  brought  home  to  a  writer  on  the  automobile  press 
very  forcibly  on  one  occasion.  The  particular  small  car  he  was 
driving  had  the  gasolene  tank  beneath  the  seat,  and  the  supply 
to  the  carbureter  was  shut  oft"  by  means  of  a  needle  valve. 
Through  frequent  use  the  thread  of  this  valve  had  become  suf- 
ficiently worn  to  enable  the  road  vibrations  to  shake  it  round, 
and  thus  reduce  the  supply  of  gasolene.  In  the  first  place,  he 
could  not  account  for  the  extraordinary  loss  of  power  in  the 
engine.  Power  rapidly  decreased,  and  then  firing  back  through 
the  air  inlet  of  the  carbureter  began  to  give  additional  trouble. 
When  this  stage  was  reached  he  considered  it  quite  time  to 
investigate  matters.  The  first  cause  to  which  he  attributed  the 
trouble  was  bad  inlet  valves.  These  were  examined,  and 
found  to  be  working  quite  correctly.  He  then  tried  starting  the 
engine  up,  and  it  went  at  first  turn,  but  very  quickly  repeated 
the  previous  performance,  and  back-fired  through  the  carburet- 
er. The  next  move  was  to  examine  the  carbureter  to  see 
whether  it  was  getting  sufficient  of  the  necessary  fluid.  It  was 
found  that  the  supply  valve  was  very  nearly  closed,  thus  al- 
lowing only  half  the  needful  quantity  of  gasolene  to  pass  to 
the  carbureter. 

Effect  of  Plunging  Cars  on  the  Carbureter. 
When  light,  very  easily  sprung  cars  are  driven  with  but  one 
or  two  passengers  on  the  front  seat — the  plunging  of  the  cars 
over  rough  roads  will  be  found  to  affect  the  gasolene  feed  to 
the  float  chamber  of  the  carbureter.  The  plunging  will  cause 
the  float  to  jump  and  flood  or  shut  off  the  feed,  so  that  for  a 


34  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

few  moments  the  engine  is  starved  of  gas.  Next  to  weight  on 
the  back  part  of  the  car,  this  involuntary  cutting  out  of  the 
engine,  when  gasolene  is  fed  by  gravity,  may  be  largely  pre- 
vented by  keeping  the  gasolene  tank  full.  The  head  of  gaso- 
lene appears  considerably  to  check  the  undesirable  action  of 
the  float  when  the  car  is  plunging  on  bad  roads. 

To  Avoid  Sideslip  Downhill. 

Most  owners  have  had  experience  of  driving  on  frozen  roads, 
and  the  novice  will  find,  or  has  already  found,  that  extreme 
precaution  is  necessary  when  descending  winding  hills.  There 
is  one  practically  safe  method  of  descending  without  danger, 
and  this  applies,  of  course,  to  slippery  roads  of  any  kind  in 
cities.  It  consists  of  driving  with  the  wheels  at  one  side  in 
the  gutter.  If  one  wheel  is  already  in  the  gutter,  there  is  very 
little  tendency  for  the  car  to  slip  out  of  it.  Again,  if  the  car 
is  close  to  the  sidewalk,  a  slip  of  an  inch  or  two  into  the  curb- 
stone is  not  much  to  worry  about.  As  long  as  one  stays  in  the 
gutter  it  is  impossible  for  the  car  to  turn  round  and  go  broad- 
side down  the  hill.  Further,  in  many  cases  roads  are  only 
frozen  on  the  crown,  and  at  the  side  and  in  the  gutter  there  is 
pretty  good  holding. 

Luck  and  the  Tire  Bill. 

Undoubtedly  a  very  large  item  in  the  cost  of  running  one's 
own  car  is  that  due  to  the  upkeep  of  the  pneumatic  tires. 
This  item  varies  very  largely  with  different  drivers  of  cars, 
and  a  low  bill  for  tires  is  usually  attributed  to  luck.  Now,  luck 
plays  a  very  inconsiderable  part  in  this  respect;  really  and 
truly,  one  might  say  no  part  at  all  other  than  that  of  missing 
broken  glass,  horseshoe  nails,  etc.  The  most  serious  damage 
which  is  done  to  tires  is  that  due  to  excessive  speed,  overload- 
ing, sudden  letting  in  of  the  clutch,  misuse  of  the  brakes,  and 
driving  over  newly  paved  roads  with  the  full  power  of  the 
engine  operating  at  the  road  wheels.  All  of  these  are  practi- 
cally solely  and  entirely  due  to  bad  driving,  and  have  nothing 
to  do  with  inherent  bad  properties  of  the  tire.  With  the  flexi- 
ble throttle  control,  as  fitted  to  modern  cars,  the  necessity  of 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  35 

constantly  applying  brakes  vanishes,  and  if  only  reasonable 
care  is  exercised  by  a  driver,  almost  the  whole  of  the  running 
can  be  done  on  the  throttle ;  hence  the  brake  need  only  be  used 
on  very  severe  hills  and  for  pulling  up  at  any  place.  Some 
•  clutches  are  much  fiercer  in  action  than  others,  but  the  knack 
of  gently  letting  in  the  clutch  can  be  acquired  if  intelligently 
practiced,  so  that  no  snatch  is  transmitted  from  the  engine 
to  the  road  wheels.  The  sudden  action  of  any  clutch  or  brake 
simply  causes  lumps  to  be  ripped  from  the  tread  of  a  tire  when 
on  a  rough  road  and  thus  the  life  is  very  considerably  reduced. 

Another  point  is  overloading  the  tire.  The  buyer  of  a  car 
should  insist  upon  having  tires  with  an  ample  margin  for  the 
weight  .carried.  The  first  cost  may  be  a  few  dollars  higher, 
but  in  the  long  run  this  is  saved  over  and  over  again. 

It  should  always  be  remembered  that  wet  surfaces  cut  rub- 
ber much  more  readily  than  dry.  In  the  case  of  small  cuts  on 
the  tread  these  should  at  once  be  filled  with  one  of  the  special 
tire  repair  preparations,  to  prevent  them  opening  out  or  being 
further  cut.  If  these  remarks  are  properly  digested,  the  tire 
bill  will  be  considerably  lessened  apart  from  so-called  luck. 

Driving  over  Loose  Stones. 

A  careful  driver  becomes  much  exercised  as  to  how  he  may 
do  his  tires  the  least  possible  amount  of  harm  when  passing 
over  a  newly-laid  patch  of  stones.  The  more  general  method 
is  to  drop  down  on  to  the  bottom  speed  and  go  over  as  gently 
as  may  be,  yet  this  oftentimes  results  in  the  tires  being  badly 
cut.  Now,  if  when  approaching  a  patch  of  loose  stones  the  car 
is  allowed  to  run  right  up  to  it  at  speed,  and  the  clutch  is  taken 
out  before  the  front  wheels  strike  the  stones,  the  vehicle  will 
have  sufficient  momentum  to  carry  it  over  most  ordinary 
patches  of  new  laid  pavement  at  a  minimum  risk  to  the  tires. 
If  the  momentum  is  insufficient  to  carry  the  car  past  the 
stones,  nothing  remains  but  to  drop  to  the  low  speed  and  go 
on  gently.  On  no  account  should  the  clutch  be  let  in  so  that 
momentum  may  be  maintained  as  immediately  the  engine  be- 
gins to  drive  when  the  gear  ratio  speed  is  above  that  of  the 


36  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

speed  of  the  vehicle  the  very  worst  cutting  action  is  put  on  the 
tires. 

Driving  Home  on  the  Rim. 

It  must  occasionally  fall  to  the  lot  of  every  automobilist 
to  find  himself  obliged  to  drive  home  on  the  rim — in  other 
words,  he  is  unable  to  keep  any  air  in  his  tire,  he  is  without 
spare  tires  or  too  short  of  time  to  struggle  with  a  refractory 
inner  tube,  and  so  elects  to  drive  on,  and  ignore  the  conse- 
quences. Common  prudence  will  suggest  a  moderate  speed, 
and  if  the  distance  to  be  traversed  be  short,  the  security  bolts 
well  tightened,  and  the  road  surface  smooth,  it  is  possible  that 
little  harm  may  be  done.  Supposing  the  cover  to  be  badly 
burst,  while  the  tube  is  in  good  condition  bar  the  burst,  it  is 
a  good  plan  to  remove  it  and  drive  on  the  cover  alone — its 
last  drive  most  likely.  If  both  cover  and  tube  are  in  good 
order,  and  the  deflation  is  due  to  a  puncture  or  loose  patch,  it 
is  well  to  screw  the  bolts  up  for  all  they  are  worth,  and  if  the 
cause  of  puncture  is  to  be  found  in  the  shape  of  a  nail  or 
piece  of  glass,  remove  it.  When  putting  things  right  in  the 
privacy  of  your  garage  you  will  doubtless  find  the  leather 
heads  of  the  security  bolts  badly  crumpled;  if  they  will 
straighten  out  so  much  the  better,  if  not  they  can  be  made 
good  with  canvas.  A  most  important  point  is  to  see  that  they 
are  not  bent  out  of  shape  as  regards  the  plates  which  form 
the  heads.  These  are  in  the  form  of  a  flat  bottomed  V,  and  the 
sides  are  very  liable  to  spread  under  such  treatment  as  sug- 
gested. If  they  are  put  back  in  such  condition  they  fail  to  bed 
down  into  the  rim,  and  in  consequence  the  inner  tube  will 
be  able  to  blow  down  under  them,  and  give  way  at  inconven- 
ient times.  Not  that  any  time  is  convenient  for  tire  trouble, 
but  some  times  are  less  inconvenient  than  others. 

Gear  Missing  in  Speed  Changes. 

If,  when  changing  speed,  the  gear  misses,  depress  the  clutch 
pedal  again  quickly,  and  the  gears  will  invariably  come  in 
at  once  without  causing  any  jar  upon  them.  When  firmly  in, 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  37 

the  clutch  should  be  let  in  gently  to  pick  up  the  momentum 
the  car  has  lost. 

Engine  Thumping  at  Gear  Changes. 

Sometimes  when  a  gear  change  from  a  lower  to  a  higher 
speed  has  been  made,  it  will  be  found  that  the  engine  com- 
mences to  thump  heavily.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
change  has  been  made  a  little  too  soon  and  before  the  speed 
of  the  car  or  the  resistance  warranted  it.  The  thumping  can 
be  instantly  stopped  by  lightly  touching  the  clutch  pedal,  so 
that  a  little  slip  takes  place.  The  engine  then  quickly  picks 
up,  and  the  thumping  ceases. 

Epicyclic  Gear  Changing. 

Owners  of  cars  with  epicycloidal  change  speed  gearing 
should  be  particularly  careful  to  change  their  gears  gently. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  amateur  driver  who  is  used  to  sliding 
gear  changing  is,  for  a  short  time,  hopelessly  at  sea  on  a  car 
with  the  type  of  gear  mentioned,  for  whereas  with  the  sliding1 
gear  a  quick  motion  is  necessary  for  gear  changing,  the  other 
type  requires  a  gradual  feeling  action  for  the  change.  Thus, 
on  cars  employing  epicyclic  gears,  the  driver  should  be  careful 
to  apply  the  brake  which  changes  the  gear  as  gradually  as 
possible,  otherwise  the  strain  on  the  gear  is  very  consid- 
erable, and  stripping  a  by  no  means  distant  possibility.  Lu- 
brication of  the  drums  is  quite  permissible,  and  is  usually 
provided  for,  but  if  not,  the  driver  of  the  car  should  see  that 
some  thin  oil  is  used  occasionally  to  grease  the  peripheries  of 
the  various  speed-changing  brake  drums. 

Returning  to  the  Slow  Speed  Gear. 

When  one  has  run  up  to  and  come  to  a  rest  at  a  point  at 
which  it  is  desired  to  stop  on  top  speed,  a  little  difficulty  will 
sometimes  be  found  in  returning  the  change  speed  lever  to  the 
neutral  notch  in  the  quadrant.  The  teeth  of  the  toothed  wheels 
on  the  sliding  sleeve  on  the  clutchshaft  do  not  at  the  moment 
exactly  coincide  with  the  gaps  in  the  toothed  wheels  on  the 
gearshaft,  and  the  wheels  will  not  pass  each  other.  Of  course, 


38  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

the  clutch  can  be  let  in  slightly,  which  would  alter  their 
position  with  regard  to  each  other,  but  not  infrequently  the 
teeth  still  foul.  The  depression  of  the  brake  pedal,  however, 
and  the  consequent  grip  of  the  brake  bands,  or  blocks,  on  the 
brake  drum  will,  permitted  by  the  slight  play  in  the  propeller- 
shaft,  cause  the  gearshaft  to  move  just  enough  to  permit  the 
passage  of  the  wheels  on  the  sliding  sleeve  through  their  fel- 
lows, and  allow  the  neutral  notch  to  be  at  once  attained. 

To  Learn  Changing  Gear. 

This  can  be  done  in  the  garage  or  anywhere  private.  Block 
up  the  rear  axle  well  and  solidly,  so  that  the  tires  are  at  least 
two  inches  from  the  ground  level,  and  wedge  the  front  wheels 
at  front  and  back,  with  substantial  wedges  or  planks.  Start 
up  the  engine  again,  and  sit  at  the  steering  wheel  seat ;  depress 
the  clutch  pedal  slightly,  and  gently  work  the  speed  lever  to 
try  and  bring  it  into  the  first  speed  notch.  Probably  a  grating 
noise  will  be  heard,  and  you  may  fail  to  get  the  wheels  prop- 
erly in  mesh.  Let  back  the  lever  to  its  original  position  and 
try  again.  If  the  lever  goes  into  the  notch,  then  at  once  let 
up  the  clutch  pedal  gently,  and  you  will  notice  the  rear  wheels 
will  at  once  commence  to  revolve.  Depress  the  clutch  and  they 
will  stop ;  let  it  in  again  and  they  start.  Practice  this,  and 
afterward  try  to  get  in  the  next  speed  higher,  first  by  depress- 
ing the  clutch,  and  at  the  same  instant  bring  the  speed  lever 
into  the  next  higher  notch,  and  immediately  let  the  clutch  in 
gently  without  loss  of  time.  The  rear  wheels  will  now  revolve 
faster,  and  you  can  then  try  higher  speeds ;  then  practice  re- 
ducing the  gear  by  doing  everything  in  the  same  order.  While 
on  each  of  the  gears,  the  engine  can  be  run  fast  or  slow  with 
the  throttle  and  spark  levers,  as  before  mentioned.  The  re- 
verse can  then  be  tried  exactly  in  the  same  manner,  most  cars 
having  the  reverse  and  forward  speeds  actuated  by  means  of 
one  lever.  In  the  exceptions  to  this  rule  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  following  out  the  operations  to  be  gone  through  if  the  levers 
are  carefully  examined  and  their  effect  noted  when  they  are 
operated. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  39 

Never  Look  at  the  Lever  Quadrant. 

One  occasionally  comes  across  car  owners  of  some  experi- 
ence— men,  too,  who  profess  to  be  particularly  keen  upon  mas- 
tering the  technique  of  their  machines — who  have  not  acquired 
such  rudimentary  skill  as  is  involved  in  changing  gears  without 
looking  down  to  see  when  the  lever  is  alongside  a  notch  in  the 
quadrant.  It  may  be  excusable  for  absolute  beginners  to  do 
this,  but  it  is  an  extremely  dangerous  practice  when  driving  in 
traffic  to  take  one's  eyes  from  the  road  in  order  to  look  down  at 
the  quadrant  when  changing  gears.  Particularly  at  night  time 
should  the  practice  be  avoided,  so  that  the  dodge  of  rigging  up 
an  electric  lamp  in  a  position  where  it  will  illuminate  the 
quadrant  must  be  regarded  as  the  invariable  sign  of  the  clumsy 
beginner.  Gear  should  be  changed  by  feeling,  not  by  sight. 
The  only  time  the  quadrant  should  be  looked  at  is  when  one 
has  stopped  on  the  top  speed.  One  should  then  see  that  the 
lever  has  been  put  in  the  neutral  notch  before  leaving  the  car. 

Driving  on  the  Brake. 

It  is  very  bad  practice  to  drive  on  the  brake,  though  some 
people  who  know  no  better  think  it  showy.  By  driving  on  the 
brake  we  mean  driving  jerkily.  For  instance,  we  will  assume 
that  the  driver  is  coming  to  a  turn  or  overtaking  a  block  in 
the  traffic.  Instead  of  reducing  his  speed  gradually  as  soon  as 
he  sees  the  necessity  for  a  slack  or  perhaps  a  stop,  he  rushes 
up  to  the  point,  and  then  jams  on  all  his  brakes  and  pulls  his 
car  up  dead.  The  next  moment,  as  the  necessity  for  the  slack 
has  passed,  he  crowds  on  all  available  power  without  allowing 
his  engine  a  moment  to  recover  and  introduce  itself  gradually 
to  its  car.  This  sort  of  thing  ruins  any  engine  and  car,  as  it 
subjects  them  to  extremely  severe  shocks  and  strains.  In 
fact,  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  more  than  one  mysterious 
failure  has  been  caused  by  the  parts  being  overstrained  through 
this  reprehensible  manner  of  driving. 

Using  the  Brakes. 

The  fact  that  there  are  two  or  more  brakes  to  every  car 
seems  to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  many  drivers,  for  in 


40  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

a  large  proportion  of  cases  the  hand  brake  is  used  solely  as 
a  sort  of  stand-by.  The  foot  brake  is  always  used,  the  hand 
brake  rarely,  with  the  result  that  the  first  is  unduly  worn, 
while  the  wheel  drums  are  hardly  ever  called  into  play.  Now, 
apart  from  the  fact  that  this  is  not  economy,  it  is  very  bad 
driving  policy,  in  that  the  driver,  never  using  his  hand  brake, 
does  not  cultivate  the  instinctive  operative  faculty,  with  the 
result  that  in  cases  of  urgent  need  thought  is  necessary  before 
he  can  apply  his  emergency  brake.  Now,  on  many  of  the  old 
pattern  cars  this  was  perhaps  excusable,  for  the  lever  was 
frequently  very  awkward  to  reach  and  cumbrously  unhandy. 
On  the  newer  cars,  however,  this  has  been  altered.  In  many 
cases,  the  hand  brake  lever  is  pivoted  to  and  swings  over  a 
parallel  quadrant  to  that  for  the  change-speed  lever,  and  it  is 
generally  in  convenient  reach  of  the  driver. 

The  Rational  Method  of  Braking. 

Beyond  this,  many  makers  have  gone  a  step  further,  and  so 
arranged  that  their  brake  lever  pulls  back  towards  the  driver, 
in  place  of  the  older  push-forward  motion.  This  is  the  rational 
action,  since,  should  it  be  necessary  to  apply  the  whole  brak- 
ing power  the  car  possesses,  the  driver  would  be  pushing  with 
his  feet  and  pulling  with  his  hand,  each  force  exerted  trans- 
ferring its  reaction  to  the  other  brake,  thus  rendering  the  mo- 
tions both  more  efficient  and  more  natural.  With  almost  all 
wheel  brakes,  compensating  devices  are  fitted,  so  that  the  re- 
tarding action  on  each  wheel  is  the  same,  and  all  the  strain  is 
taken  by  the  hub  of  the  wheel.  Where  the  countershaft  brake 
or  brakes  or  the  propeller-shaft  brake  is  used,  there  is  all  the 
slack  in  the  chains  or  the  lash  in  the  teeth  to  be  taken  up 
before  the  action  takes  place,  or,  in  other  words,  there  is  a 
reversal  of  strain  from  the  brake  backward.  If  you  want  your 
car  to  last,  use  the  hand  brake  for  ordinary  driving  more  wide- 
ly. It  is  only  a  question  of  use.  Use  is  second  nature,  and  the 
cultivation  of  the  Hand  brake  may  save  the  automobilist  a 
serious  accident.  In  the  interests  of  public  safety  also  every 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  41 

driver  should  accustom  himself  to  the  instant  use  of  all  his 
available  braking  power. 

Driving  on  Treacherous  Roads. 

Those  who  are  unfamiliar  with  the  gyrations  of  a  motor 
car  under  the  influence  of  sideslip  are  often  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  to  do  when  the  car  begins  to  slip  even  in  a  gentle  man- 
ner. Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  sideslip  is  one  of  those  things 
which  come  upon  one  suddenly ;  but  if  a  number  of  such  side- 
slips are  analyzed  they  will  be  found  to  be  due  to  a  too  harsh 
application  of  the  brakes,  or  to  the  upward  changing  of  the 
gears,  when  the  conditions  are  such  as  not  to  permit  of  the 
road  wheels  taking  up  the  increased  speed  applied  to  them  and 
at  the  same  time  getting  a  firm  grip  of  the  road.  As  a  general 
rule,  it  will  be  found,  if  one  drives  on  one's  proper  side  of  the 
road,  that  the  tendency  of  the  car  is  to  slip  towards  the  off  or 
right-hand  side,  this  being  due  to  the  camber  of  the  road,  so 
that  the  rear  wheels  of  the  car  have  an  inclination  to  slide  upon 
the  greasy  surface  down  to  the  gutter.  On  some  of  the  nar- 
row and  highly  cambered  roads  occasionally  met  with  there  is 
the  greatest  difficulty  experienced  in  keeping  the  car  straight. 
The  natural  inclination  is  for  it  to  proceed  crab  fashion  rather 
than  in  a  straight  line. 

Conduct  in  Sideslip. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  is  perhaps  better  to  wait  until 
the  way  is  clear,  when  the  car  can  be  put  directly  across  the 
road  and  again  brought  on  to  the  crown,  when  all  will  go 
well  so  long  as  the  crown  of  the  road  is  kept  to.  Under  other 
circumstances,  when  the  car  shows  an  inclination  to  slip 
towards  the  right,  if  the  front  wheels  are  also  steered  towards 
the  right  they  have  a  wholesome  checking  influence  upon  the 
rear  wheels,  which,  once  having  commenced  to  slide,  prefer 
to  take  the  front  wheels  as  a  pivot  whereon  to  turn,  and  if  the 
pace  or  the  weight  of  the  car  and  the  general  conditions  are 
such  as  to  give  sufficient  momentum,  it  is  not  at  all  unusual 
for  the  car  to  turn  completely  round.  In  such  instances  the 
checking  influence  of  the  front  wheels  is  not  very  great,  but  is 


42  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

frequently  sufficient  to  prevent  the  car  doing  any  vrrious  dam- 
age to  itself.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  wheels  are  turned  out- 
ward, they  only  aggravate  the  sideslip  by  causing  the  driving 
wheels  to  push  the  front  of  the  car  more  up  on  to  the  crown 
of  the  road,  so  giving  sufficient  momentum  at  the  rear  end 
either  to  turn  the  car  itself  completely  round,  or  possibly  to 
damage  the  rear  wheels  or  axles  seriously  by  a  violent  col- 
lision with  the  curb. 

Starting  under  Difficulties. 

If  an  engine  will  not  start  on  the  switch,  and  the  starting 
handle  is  lost  or  so  bent  through  a  collision  as  to  be  useless, 
the  car  may  be  pushed  with  the  engine  in  gear,  or  even  jacked 
up  at  the  back.  This  plan  has  been  tried  occasionally  when 
a  back  wheel  was  turned  by  hand,  which,  of  course,  made  the 
engine  work.  Directly  it  fires,  the  speed  lever  must  be  put 
into  the  neutral  position  and  the  jack  removed.  This  opera- 
tion, however,  needs  care,  particularly  when  the  car  has  a  chain 
drive. 

A  few  cars  are  still  used  with  detachable  starting  handles 
and  these,  like  any  other  articles,  can  be  lost.  If  the  engine 
will  start  on  the  switch,  the  problem  of  getting  a  car  under  way 
is  easily  solved.  Another  alternative  is  to  put  the  car  in  gear 
and  get  a  person  to  push  the  car.  If,  however,  one  has  no  pas- 
sengers, and  there  is  nobody  at  hand  to  give  assistance,  the 
difficulty  is  one  which  might  be  thought  to  be  insurmount- 
able. 

We  give  one  method  suggested  for  overcoming  the  diffi- 
culty, but  which  should  not  be  put  into  practice  unless  every- 
thing else  fails. 

One  rear  wheel  should  be  jacked  up,  and  everything  set  for 
starting.  The  jacked-up  wheel  should  now  be  pulled  round 
in  a  forward  direction,  which  will  rotate  the  engine.  The 
top  gear  should  be  put  into  engagement,  as  the  engine  will 
then  start  with  less  manual  effort.  Directly  the  engine  is 
rotated,  the  speed  lever  should  be  put  into  the  neutral  gear 
position,  before  the  jack  is  removed. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  43 

Starting  a  Motor  on  Coal  Gas. 

When  attempting  to  start  a  gasolene  engine  "from  the 
cold,"  instead  of  injecting  gasolene  into  the  cylinders  or  warm- 
ing the  carbureter  with  hot  cloths,  insert  one  end  of  a  piece  of 
rubber  gas  tubing  in  the  air  intake  of  carbureter,  and  connect 
the  other  end  of  tube  to  the  nearest  gas  bracket.  Upon  turning 
on  the  gas,  the  engine  will  be  found  to  go  off  at  the  first  or 
second  turn  of  the  starting  handle,  and,  unless  it  be  of  very 
large  dimensions  or  the  gas  supply  very  attenuated,  will  con- 
tinue to  run  at  a  moderate  speed.  Gasolene  can  now  be  turned 
on,  the  carbureter  flooded,  and,  after  a  few  seconds,  the  gas 
turned  off,  leaving  the  engine  running  on  gasolene.  This 
method  will  be  found  very  simple  in  practice,  and  saves  much 
exertion  at  the  starting  handle.  When  an  engine  is  missing 
fire,  it  can  readily  be  ascertained  by  running  the  engine  on 
coal  gas  as  described  above,  whether  the  carbureter  is  at  fault 
or  not. 

One  word  of  caution :  Owing  to  the  strong  suction  in  the 
air  intake,  the  coal  gas  is  sucked  out  of  the  gas  main  much 
faster  than  it  would  issue  by  its  own  pressure,  and  the  result 
is  that  any  lights  in  the  vicinity  will  probably  be  sucked  out. 

Popping  in  the  Muffler. 

Numerous  owners  who  have  learned  to  drive  a  De  Dion 
car,  enquire  how  to  account  for  explosions  in  the  exhaust-box, 
and  how  they  can  be  prevented.  One  such  owner  says  that 
the  engine  must  be  bewitched,  inasmuch  as  it  nearly  always 
pops  when  passing  restive  horses.  The  explanation  is  simple, 
and  the  cure  of  the  phenomenon  easy.  Popping  in  the  muffler 
nearly  always  occurs  through  the  mixture  being  too  weak,  so 
that  the  charge  is  not  exploded  in  the  cylinder,  but  passes  out 
through  the  exhaust-valve  into  the  muffler,  where  it  is  ignited 
by  the  heat  of  the  exhaust  pipe  or  box.  When  traveling  fast, 
the  mixture  lever  is  adjusted  to  admit  plenty  of  air  to  the 
carbureter;  in  the  De  Dion  car  the  mixture  lever  is  pushed 
toward  the  steering  column,  while  the  timing  lever  is  pushed 
forward  for  early  sparking;  but  when  the  pace  is  suddenly 


44  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

checked,  as  it  naturally  would  be  when  approaching  a  restive 
horse,  the  mixture  is  upset  because  the  piston  speed  is  not 
sufficiently  great  to  suck  in  a  sufficiency  of  spray  to  mingle 
with  the  air;  thus  it  happens  that  the  very  act  of  suddenly 
checking  the  car  in  order  to  pass  a  restive  horse  slowly  has 
the  effect  of  provoking  explosions.  The  remedy  is  always  to 
remember  to  push  the  mixture  lever  forward  when  suddenly 
checking  speed. 

Gasolene  Leakage  :   Lamp  Dangers. 

Jf  a  leak  in  the  gasolene  tank  or  connections  is  discovered 
at  night,  the  lamps  should  be  put  out  at  once,  and  care  taken 
that  no  light  is  brought  near  the  car.  If  it  is  impossible  to 
rectify  the  leak  without  light,  and  no  electric  lamp  or  torch  is 
available,  the  acetylene  lamp  may  be  lighted  and  placed  at 
least  four  yards  from  the  car.  When  the  leak  is  stopped,  the 
escaped  gasolene  should  be  wiped  away,  and  a  few  minutes 
should  be  spent  in  v/aiting  for  what  is  left  to  evaporate  before 
attempting  to  light  the  lamps. 

Driving  with  Slack  Chains. 

"It  once  fell  to  our  lot  to  drive  a  light  car  having  side  chain 
drive,"  writes  an  early  enthusiast  in  motoring.  "These  chains 
were  so  loose  as  to  cause  some  anxiety,  for  there  was  every 
possibility  of  their  leaving  the  sprockets.  This  eventually 
happened,  but  luckily  gave  no  great  trouble  in  replacement. 
Tt  was  found  that  the  stretcher  bars  had  been  lengthened  out 
to  their  utmost,  and,  therefore,  there  was  no  chance  of  giving 
the  chains  the  necessary  adjustment;  and  being  well  on  into 
the  night,  it  was  hardly  a  pleasant  task  to  start  taking  a  link 
out  of  both  chains.  To  prevent  further  possibility  of  the  chain 
coming  off,  we  religiously  stuck  to  the  second  gear  for  the 
remainder  of  our  journey — some  sixteen  or  eighteen  miles — 
and  drove  on  the  brake  when  descending  hills.  The  object  of 
this  was  to  keep  the  chain  taut  on  its  top  side,  with  the  engine 
throttled  down  and  the  brake  just  applied  sufficiently  to  re- 
tard the  car  to  keep  the  chain  in  the  desired  position,  and 
this  prevented  all  further  troubles." 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  45 

Extemporizing  a  Valve  Spring. 

A  useful  addition  to  the  motorist's  outfit  is  a  length  of  piano 
wire  about  the  same  gauge  as  the  existing  inlet  spring.  It  not 
infrequently  happens  that  a  proper  valve  spring  is  not  in- 
cluded in  the  spare  parts  carried,  and  when  one  of  these  be- 
comes weakened  or  breaks,  it  is  often  a  matter  of  difficulty 
to  get  even  so  small  a  thing  into  proper  working  order  again. 
By  carrying  a  piece  of  wire  of  this  type,  a  spring  of  prac- 
tically any  required  strength  can  be  made  and  used  without 
the  necessity  of  tempering,  as  would  be  the  case  with  most 
of  the  other  kinds  of  wire  used  for  spring  making.  This  may 
appear  to  some  to  be  superfluous,  but  many  owners  have  had 
experiences  in  which  a  length  of  wire  would  have  meant  a 
great  saving  of  time  and  temper  had  it  been  available. 

Hauling  a  Car. 

In  the  event  of  a  breakdown  irremediable  upon  the  road, 
when  recourse  must  be  made  to  haulage  by  another  car,  or 
anything  that  can  exert  tractive  force,  care  should  be  taken 
as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  tow  rope  is  attached  to  the  car. 
It  is  by  no  means  advisable  to  make  the  tow  rope  fast  to  the 
front  axle;  it  is  better  to  secure  it  to  the  projecting  ends  of 
the  frame,  which  serve  as  spring  horns,  and  pass  the  rope  be- 
tween these  and  the  ends  of  the  springs  themselves.  The 
haulage  stress  is  then  distributed  evenly  through  the  frame 
to  both  axles.  The  ends  of  the  rope  so  passed  should  be  taken 
and  attached  to  any  suitable  part  of  the  haulage  equipment. 
If  the  car  is  to  be  loaded  up  on  to  a  dray  or  wagon,  take  care 
that  the  wheels  of  the  dray  are  securely  blocked  before  any 
attempt  is  made  to  run  the  car  up  the  inclined  planks  by  which 
the  floor  of  the  dray  is  to  be  gained.  Be  ready  also  with  suit- 
able blocks  or  rods  to  secure  the  wheels  of  the  car  and  arrest 
it  at  any  part  of  the  ascent  if  this  should  prove  necessary 
from  any  cause  whatever.  Where  a  car  has  sustained  such 
damage  to  one  of  the  front  wheels  that  it  cannot  travel  on  it, 
a  strong  pole  may  be  passed  under  the  front  axle  or  the  frame, 
and  fastened  to  the  back  axle.  The  front  end  of  the  pole  can 


46  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

then  be  attached  to  the  towing  vehicle,  so  that  the  damaged 
wheel  is  raised  just  off  the  ground. 

Steering  with  Broken  Gear. 

Happily,  steering  gears  are  not  now  so  prone  to  give  way 
as  they  were  a  few  years  ago,  but  should  any  reader  be  so 
unfortunate  as  to  have  a  distance  rod  of  the  steering  gear  come 
adrift,  the  following  tip  may  be  of  use :  Failing  any  temporary 
repairs,  the  car  should  be  turned  round  by  manual  aid,  and 
the  front  wheel  wThich  is  not  connected  to  the  steering  wheel 
should  be  lashed  up  to  prevent  its  turning  athwart  the  car. 
The  vehicle  may  now  be  driven  slowly  backward,  steering  by 
the  one  wheel,  which  now  becomes  a  trailer.  This  method 
is,  of  course,  bad  for  the  tire,  and  should  only  be  resorted  to 
when  a  repair  can  be  effected  within  a  couple  of  miles  or  so. 

Economizing  Gasolene. 

The  distance  which  one  driver  can  accomplish  on  a  given 
quantity  of  gasolene  is  often  a  subject  of  much  astonishment 
to  the  driver  of  another  and  similar  car,  who  finds  it  almost 
impossible  to  get  the  same  results  out  of  his  own  vehicle,  al- 
though it  is,  as  wre  have  remarked,  identical  with  the  one  con- 
suming the  lower  quantity.  The  whole  question  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  one  who  is  able  to  use  a  lower  quantity  of  gaso- 
lene has  hit  upon  the  correct  method  of  running  his  engine — 
and  that  is  allowing  the  carbureter  to  take  in  as  much  air  as 
it  possibly  can,  and  still  to  retain  a  good  mixture.  The  most 
effective  mixture  of  spirituous  vapor  and  air  is  that  which  will 
run  the  engine  at  its  highest  power,  which  power  is  in  no  way 
increased  by  increasing  the  richness  of  the  mixture.  What  is 
really  meant  by  this  can  easily  be  ascertained  by  the  owner 
of  any  motor  in  the  following  manner:  Close  down  the  air 
opening  to  the  carbureter  so  as  to  obtain  a  rich  mixture  for 
starting,  and  then  turn  the  starting  handle,  when  the  motor 
commences  to  work.  Attention  should  now  be  turned  to  the 
air  inlet.  Open  this  slowly,  and  if  a  governor  is  fitted  this 
should  previously  have  been  put  out  of  action  by  the  accelera- 
tor being  pulled  up  or  tied  down,  as  the  case  may  be.  As  the 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  47 

mixture  assumes  its  better  proportion,  the  engine  will  per- 
ceptibly quicken  its  speed,  and  with  its  speed  the  power,  of 
course,  increases.  Continue  opening  the  air  inlet  until  it  is 
wide  open,  and  if  there  is  no  marked  diminution  in  the  speed 
of  the  engine,  it  may  be  assumed  that  it  is  running  on  the 
best  proportion  of  mixture  obtainable.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  engine  begins  to  slow  down,  the  air  inlet  should  be  closed 
down  again  until  the  engine  picks  up  its  previous  speed  and 
gives  out  that  note  which  spells  power.  The  engine  is  now 
running  to  its  best  advantage,  and  is  consuming  the  smallest 
amount  of  gasolene  possible.  At  the  same  time  this  is  only  a 
rough  guide  to  getting  the  correct  adjustment,  as  the  engine 
is  doing  no  work.  A  road  trial  must  be  made  to  see  how 
nearly  the  garage  ideal  can  be  reached.  This  applies  to  the 
vast  majority  of  carbureter  adjustments. 

Contributory  Causes  of  Loss  of  Power. 
From  time  to  time  one  comes  across  motors  of  which  their 
owners  complain  that,  while  they  do  very  well  on  the  level, 
they  behave  scandalously  when  a  hill  of  any  gravity  presents 
itself  before  them.  Making  a  general  and  cursory  test,  it  is 
found  that  the  compression  in  each  cylinder  is  good,  the  igni- 
tion apparently  satisfactory,  the  timing  correct,  the  operation 
of  the  valves  visually  good — in  fact,  there  seems  nothing  em- 
phatically responsible  for  the  sluggishness  of  which  the  owner 
complains.  Now,  there  is  only  one  thing  to  do  in  such  case, 
and  that  one  comprises  many.  It  is  to  go  carefully  and  mi- 
nutely through  the  motor,  and,  though  it  will  not  be  found 
that  any  one  detail  is  radically  at  fault,  yet  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  one  or  more  sparking  plugs  are  dirty  or  have 
spark  gaps  too  large,  the  electrical  connections  are  somewhere 
loose  and  dirty,  there  is  a  slight  short  somewhere,  there  is 
deposit  in  the  carbureter,  or  the  gauze  filters  at  the  bottom 
of  the  tank  or  in  the  union  close  to  the  float  feed  chamber  are 
more  or  less  choked,  an  exhaust  spring  is  weak  and  its  valve 
does  not  close  as  smartly  as  it  should,  the  holes  in  the  muffler 
are  choked  with  mud  or  grease  and  there  is  some  back  pressure 


48  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

caused  thereby,  one  of  the  brakes  is  rubbing  more  or  less  on 
its  drum,  a  pneumatic  tire  is  soft,  the  accumulators  are  down 
a  bit,  or  there  is  a  considerable  deposit  of  carbon  on  the  com- 
bustion chamber  walls  and  piston  heads.  These  small  matters 
taken  separately  do  not  appear  to  be  particularly  serious,  and 
should  not  of  themselves  detract  in  any  marked  degree  from 
the  pulling  power  of  the  engine.  Let  us  suppose,  however, 
that  each  of  these  little  failings  reduces  the  horse-power  by 
one-tenth.  It  will  easily  be  seen  that  their  sum  total  of  re- 
duction is  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  to  deprive  the  en- 
gine of  that  vim  without  feeling  which  no  true  automobilist 
is  truly  happy  at  the  wheel. 

Substitute  for  a  Governor. 

Single-cylinder  cars,  and,  in  fact,  most  of  the  less  expensive 
ones,  are  somewhat  difficult  to  drive  in  traffic.  The  constant 
manipulation  of  the  clutch  necessitates  frequent  acceleration 
or  slowing  down  of  the  engine.  This  is  generally  done  by 
keeping  the  hand  on  the  advance  spark  lever,  so  that  when  the 
clutch  is  taken  out  this  is  moved  back  to  slow  the  engine  down 
on  running  light.  On  letting  the  clutch  in  again,  the  spark  is 
advanced  to  enable  the  engine  to  give  the  required  power  for 
driving.  For  these  operations  two  hands  are  necessary — one 
on  the  steering  wheel  and  one  on  the  sparking  lever.  If,  in 
addition,  it  is  necessary  to  change  speed  rapidly,  or  to  use  the 
hand  brakes,  either  the  steering  wheel  must  be  let  go  alto- 
gether or  the  engine  must  be  allowed  to  race — that  is,  if  it  is 
not  fitted  with  a  governor  of  some  kind.  This  partly  applies 
to  speed  changing.  When  changing  up,  the  engine  has  to  be 
slowed  from  the  moment  the  clutch  is  withdrawn  until  the 
higher  gear  and  clutch  are  engaged,  when  the  spark  can  be 
advanced.  If  this  is  not  done,  the  moment  the  clutch  is  de- 
pressed as  a  preliminary  to  gear  changing,  the  engine  races 
objectionably. 

A  simple  way  to  overcome  the  difficulty  is  to  connect  the 
clutch  pedal  to  the  contact  breaker,  so  that  when  the  clutch 
pedal  is  depressed  to  withdraw  the  clutch  the  sparking  is  re- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  49 

tarded,  but  allowed  to  return  immediately  the  clutch  is  re- 
engaged. This  is  done  by  disconnecting  the  contact  breaker 
from  its  advance  spark  lever,  and  fitting  a  spring  tending  to 
advance  it  to  its  utmost.  A  wire  or  rod  is  then  fitted  from 
the  contact  breaker  to  the  usual  control  lever,  enabling  it  to 
be  set  in  any  position  by  pulling  it  back  by  means  of  the  hand 
lever  against  the  action  of  the  spring.  This  leaves  the  con- 
tact breaker  controllable  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  be- 
fore. From  the  clutch  pedal  or  some  part  of  the  clutch  con- 
nections a  wire  is  led  to  the  contact  breaker  in  such  a  way 
as  to  pull  it  back  to  its  most  retarded  position  when  the  clutch 
pedal  is  fully  depressed.  This  can  best  be  done  by  means  of 
wires,  though  they  are  somewhat  unreliable ;  if  rods  are  used, 
a  sliding  connection  must  be  made  between  the  clutch  rod  and 
hand  lever  rod  to  allow  the  contact  breaker  to  be  retarded 
by  the  clutch  rod  without  necessitating  any  movement  of  the 
hand  lever. 

Starting  Single-cylinder  Engines. 

In  starting  single-cylinder  engines,  very  often  trouble  is  ex- 
perienced, this  apparently  being  due  to  the  engine  being  cold 
or  to  the  carbureter  hardly  giving  a  correct  mixture.  With 
a  De  Dion  type  of  engine,  this  trouble  is  readily  got  over  by 
simply  leaving  the  ignition  switch  off,  and  then  depressing 
the  inlet  valve,  and  at  the  same  time  giving  about  three  or 
four  brisk  turns  to  the  crankshaft.  Then  when  the  switch  is 
placed  in  the  on  position  and  the  crankshaft  given  a  brisk 
jerk  so  as  to  bring  the  piston  over  the  compression  point,  it 
will  be  found  that  starting  is  quite  easy.  Of  course,  the  throt- 
tle valve  must  be  opened  before  the  inlet  valve  is  depressed. 

How  to  Get  the  Best  Work  Out  of  a  Motor. 

Here  are  three  good  fundamental  rules  for  getting  the  best 
work  with  the  least  consumption  out  of  your  engine : 

1.  Drive  with  ignition  advanced  to  the  utmost  short  of  en- 
gine knock. 

2.  Admit  as  much  air  to  the  carbureter  as  possible  short  of 
getting  misfires. 


50  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

This,  of  course,  only  obtains  with  carbureters  in  which  the 
air  supply  is  controllable. 

3.  Never  let  the  engine  run  hot  or  in  want  of  the  proper 
supply  of  lubricating  oil. 

To  Start  an  Engine  Easily. 

One  often  hears  of  motorists,  especially  novices,  who  have 
great  difficulty  in  starting  up  their  engines.  They  are  often 
afraid  to  stop  their  engines  while  leaving  the  car  for  a  few 
minutes,  on  account  of  their  difficulties  on  re-starting.  In 
most  cases  starting  is  quite  easy  if  care  is  taken  always  to  close 
the  additonal  air  inlet  and  open  the  throttle  fully.  If  neces- 
sary, the  carbureter  should  be  flooded  slightly.  This  should 
be  done  not  by  lifting  the  needle  valve,  or  by  holding  down 
the  plunger,  as  in  a  Longuemare  carbureter,  but  by  lifting  and 
depressing  it  sharply,  so  as  to  spray  the  gasolene  from  the  jet 
right  up  the  inlet  pipe.  This  coats  the  walls  of  the  pipe  with 
gasolene,  and  a  firing  mixture  is  taken  into  the  engine  at  once, 
no  matter  how  slowly  it  is  turned  over.  The  starting  handle 
should  always  be  turned  round  sharply  through  the  three  easy 
strokes,  so  as  to  insure  sufficient  suction  to  take  in  a  proper 
mixture,  and  should  then  be  jerked  over  the  compression 
stroke  by  an  upward  pull  on  the  handle.  With  carbureters  of 
the  Longuemare  type,  in  which  the  inlet  is  at  right  angles  to 
the  jet,  if  the  carbureter  be  flooded  too  much,  an  excess  of 
gasolene  collects  in  the  well  at  the  bottom  of  the  jet,  and  far 
too  rich  a  mixture  is  obtained  for  starting.  For  this  reason 
excessive  flooding  should  always  be  avoided,  as  it  is  rarely, 
if  ever,  successful  in  getting  the  engine  under  way.  A  good 
tip  to  facilitate  starting  is  to  open  the  throttle  wide  and  close 
the  air  inlet  just  before  switching  off,  so  that  the  cylinders  and 
inlet  pipe  are  filled  with  a  rich  mixture,  ready  for  the  first 
spark  on  turning  the  engine  over.  Some  drivers  always  make 
a  point  of  starting  up  with  the  left  hand,  so  that  in  the  event 
of  a  back-kick  the  right  hand  gets  off  scot  free,  though  there 
is  no  occasion  for  anybody  receiving  a  bad  back-kick.  How- 
ever, it  is  as  well  to  cultivate  the  habit  of  starting  up  with  the 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  51 

left  hand,  so  that  should  the  driver  experience  a  sprained 
wrist,  he  can  get  along  by  using  the  other  hand.  It  will  be 
found  easier  if  on  putting  the  car  away  for  the  night  the 
gasolene  cock  is  turned  off  before  the  engine  is  stopped,  and 
the  carbureter  will  then  become  empty  without  the  trouble  of 
drawing  the  gasolene  off.  In  very  cold  weather  it  will  be  found 
helpful  to  fill  up  with  warm  water,  thereby  warming  the  en- 
gine, which  will  then  start  at  the  first  or  second  turn. 

To  Prevent  Being  Dazzled. 

It  is  always  advisable  to  have  ready  a  pair  of  tinted  or 
smoked  glasses  or  goggles,  so  as  to  be  prepared  for  driving 
against  a  low  sun.  In  the  early  morning,  and  less  frequently 
in  the  evening,  when  one  is  driving  facing  a  low  sun,  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  see.  If  a  pair  of  smoked  glasses  are  avail- 
able, there  is  no  difficulty.  Of  course,  the  trouble  only  occurs 
when  one  is  driving  almost  directly  against  the  sun,  and  with- 
out tinted  glasses  it  is  quite  impossible  to  proceed  with  safety 
either  to  oneself  or  to  other  road  users,  at  anything  above  a 
mere  crawl.  There  have  been  many  horse  and  cycle  acci- 
dents, some  of  them  fatal,  entirely  due  to  the  blinding  effect 
of  a  low  sun. 

For  Stopping  Leaks. 

Always  carry  a  piece  of  bread  somewhere  on  your  car,  says 
a  practical  French  motorist ;  rye  bread  for  choice.  Rye  bread 
is  sometimes  difficult  of  acquisition  in  this  country,  so  a  good 
wheat  bread  may  suffice.  The  bread  is  not  to  be  stored  against 
a  prolonged  "panne"  (i.  e.,  "trouble"),  and  consequent  famine 
in  the  depth  of  the  wilds,  but  because  under  certain  circum- 
stances the  staff  of  life  can  be  of  much  avail  in  directions 
other  than  that  of  alimentation.  A  slight  leak  in  a  radiator 
can  be  most  efficiently,  although  temporarily,  staunched  by 
means  of  paste  made  from  bread  kneaded  with  the  fingers. 
The  paste  must  be  well  kneaded,  then  spread  over  the  leaky 
part,  and  worked  in  with  some  tool  which  will  do  duty  as  a 
spatula,  just  in  the  way  painters  work  up  their  colors  on  a 
palette. 


52  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

Attention  to  Tire  Valve  and  Bolt  Nuts. 

After  every  run  out  on  a  car,  the  air  tube  valve  nut  and 
also  all  the  securing  bolt  nuts  should  be  carefully  gone  over 
to  feel  whether  they  have  worked  slack;.  With  the  running 
on  the  road  this  frequently  happens,  so  that  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  try  all  of  these  with  a  small  pair  of  pliers,  as  the  thumb  and 
finger  grip  on  these  is  not  sufficient  to  tighten  them  up  satis- 
factorily. If  the  bolt  nuts  are  allowed  to  get  slack,  there  is  a 
great  tendency  to  shear  the  bolts  or  deform  their  heads.  The 
heads  tend  also  to  tip  up,  and  the  result  is  that  the  inner  tube 
gets  nipped  beneath  the  head,  and  in  a  very  short  time  bursts, 
thus  causing  serious  trouble  on  the  road,  but  the  pliers  must 
be  used  very  lightly. 

Skidding   or    Side-slip. 

Skidding  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  enemies  that  the  auto- 
mobilist  has  to  guard  against.  There  would  seem  to  be  no  law 
governfng  side-slip,  and  at  times  no  amount  of  skill  in  driv- 
ing will  entirely  prevent  it,  though  the  danger  may  be  modified 
to  an  extent.  Skidding  may  be  divided  into  two  classes : 

1.  Due  to  grip  of  road  surface  being  insufficient  to  enable 
driving  wheels  to  propel  car.    In  this  case,  as  the  road  friction 
is  not  likely  to  be  the  same  under  each  driving  wheel,  the 
differential  enables  that  wheel  having  the  better  hold  to  do 
more  than  its  share  of  propelling,  with  the  result  that  the  car 
is  slewed  round  out  of  its  course.     This  is  the  form  of  skid 
which  is  easiest  to  correct,  for  it  is  only  necessary  to  take  the 
clutch  out. 

2.  Due  to  either  change  of  direction  of  car  or  reduction  of 
its   speed  under  conditions  when   road  surface   is  slimy  and 
treacherous.    This  class  of  side-slip  has  huge  possibilities  and 
can  only  be  avoided  by  driving  slowly  or,  in  fact,  as  if  all 
brakes  on  the  car  had  been  dismantled.     Carefully  watch  the 
way  in  which  the  road  happens  to  dish,  especially  round  cor- 
ners.   Of  course  with  non-skid  chains  or  bands  these  difficul- 
ties mostly  vanish,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  a  man 
who  has  never  learnt  to  drive  without  such  devices  becomes 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  53 

hopelessly  lost  if  he  happens  to  be  driving  a  car  having  tires 
with  ordinary  treads  on  a  slippery  road.  Apart  from  bad  road 
surface,  skidding  is  promoted  by  a  faulty  differential,  back 
brakes  unequally  adjusted,  frame  or  axles  being  out  of  align- 
ment, or  one  tire  having  slightly  greater  diameter  than  its 
fellow. 

The  class  of  mud  on  which  a  motor  car  slips  is  exactly  the 
same  as  that  which  affects  a  bicycle,  and  consequently  the 
driver  who  is  also  a  cyclist  will  be  in  a  better  position  to  judge 
than  one  who  is  not.  Briefly,  if  the  mud  is  thick  and  half  dried, 
or  if  there  is  a  thin  film  of  grease  over  the  paving,  or  if  the 
road  surface  is  composed  of  a  slimy  quality  of  limestone,  the 
driver  must  exercise  great  caution.  Frozen  roads  are,  as  a  rule, 
safe.  A  sheet  of  ice,  however,  must  be  traversed  cautiously, 
and  if  the  surface  has  sufficiently  thawed  to  become  wet,  it 
will  be  even  more  treacherous  than  the  worst  class  of  mud. 

The  best  safeguard  against  side-slipping  is  to  travel  slowly 
at  a  steady,  uniform  pace.  A  sudden,  violent  application  of 
the  brakes,  a  sharp  turn  of  the  steering  wheel  or  a  sudden  ac- 
celeration of  pace  may  set  up  slipping.  The  driver  should 
therefore,  try  to  run  his  engine  at  an  absolutely  uniform 
speed,  and  should  avoid  traveling  at  a  pace  which  would 
necessitate  a  strong  application  of  the  brakes  should  an  ob- 
struction suddenly  block  the  road.  In  fact,  when  the  grease 
is  really  bad,  he  should  regulate  his  speed  so  that  the  manip- 
ulation of  the  throttle  lever  will  slow  the  car  sufficiently  to 
provide  for  the  ordinary  exigencies  of  traffic. 

The  action  of  a  car  on  a  greasy  or  slippery  road  is  often 
deceptive.  The  driver  may  find  he  can  maintain  a  fast  pace 
without  any  sign  of  side-slip,  but  he  is  almost  helpless  should 
the  need  arise  for  a  sudden  stop.  If  he  puts  the  brakes  on  sud- 
denly, the  car  may  swing  right  round.  A  swerve  or  an  at- 
tempt to  take  a  corner  quickly  will  also  have  the  same  effect. 

When  a  side-slip  does  occur,  the  driver  should  declutch  the 
engine  on  the  moment.  If  he  has  applied  his  brakes,  he  should 
let  them  off  again,  and  should  momentarily  give  the  car  its 
head,  so  as  to  afford  the  wheels  an  opportunity  of  biting,  but 


54  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

should  then  instantly  turn  the  steering  wheel  in  the  direction 
necessary  to  right  the  car.  If  the  wheel  is  violently  turned  in 
the  opposite  direction  to  the  slip,  the  car  is  most  likely  to  con- 
tinue slipping,  and  perhaps  will  turn  completely  round. 
Should  the  latter  happen,  the  driver  must  let  his  clutch  in 
again,  at  the  very  moment  that  the  front  of  the  car  points 
directly  up  or  down  the  road,  when  the  front  wheels  will  prob- 
ably again  grip. 

There  is  practically  no  time  to  think  in  the  case  of  a  side- 
slip. The  necessary  actior .  is  instinctive  and  practically  instan- 
taneous. If  the  driver  does  not  declutch  at  once  the  car  will 
dive  into  the  ditch,  and  if  he  does  not  do  the  right  thing  at 
the  right  moment  with  the  steering  wheel  the  car  will  turn 
round.  He  will  only  gain  skill  by  experience,  and  the  only 
way  to  avoid  accident  while  gaining  the  necessary  skill  is  to 
drive  very  slowly  at  first,  so  that  if  a  slip  occurs  which  he  is 
unable  to  control  no  damage  will  result.  It  is  a  good  plan  to 
practice  side-slipping  at  a  slow  pace  on  a  wide,  unfrequented 
road.  The  control  will  then  come  very  quickly.  A  really  ex- 
pert driver  is  able  to  actually  reverse  his  direction  by  a  sud- 
den twis^t  of  the  steering  wheel,  and  yet  control  the  slip  so  that 
the  car  will  "fetch  up"  when  it  assumes  an  end-on  position 
in  the  roadway. 

When  descending  a  steep  hill  the  dangers  resulting  from 
side-slip  are  intensified,  for  the  brakes  cannot  be  safely  used 
to  any  extent,  and  the  Car  may  continue  sliding  broadside  on, 
or  slowly  revolving  owing  to  the  slope  of  the  hill.  On  an  ex- 
ceptionally slippery  hill,  as,  for  example,  when  the  surface  is 
coated  with  wet  ice,  a  safe  descent  may  often  be  effected  by 
driving  with  the  wheels  at  one  side  in  the  gutter.  This  gives 
the  wheels  a  bite,  and  tends  to  prevent  the  car  swinging  broad- 
side on.  Also  if  a  slip  does  occur  the  proximity  of  the  curb, 
be  it  of  earth  or  stone,  prevents  serious  results  should  the  car 
strike  sideways  and  come  to  an  immediate  stop. 

It  may,  perhaps,  seem  that  driving  on  a  greasy  road  is  ex- 
ceedingly dangerous.  To  the  experienced  driver,  however,  it 
is  not  so.  He  quickly  learns  the  speed  at  which  he  can  travel 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  55 

with  safety,  and  the  amount  to  which  the  brakes  can  be  ap- 
plied without  causing  side-slip.  Should  the  car  swing  round, 
it  will  not  sustain  any  damage  unless  it  strikes  some  obstruc- 
tion or  glides  into  a  ditch.  ; 

There  are  many  non-skid  devices  on  the  market  of  more  or 
less  efficiency,  by  the  use  of  which  the  risk  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum. 

THE  ART  OF  DRIVING. 

Having  dealt  with  the  manipulation  of  the  clutch  and  the 
various  control  levers  so  as  to  get  the  best  results  out  of  the 
car,  we  shall  now  give  some  hints  on  how  to  become  a  safe 
and  expert  driver.  The  beginner  too  often  falls  into  the  mis- 
take of  thinking  that  to  drive  a  car  well  is  a  very  simple  matter, 
and  before  he  has  found  out  his  mistake  he  may  have  caused 
injury  through  faulty  manipulation,  and  perhaps  have  met 
with  a  more  or  less  serious  accident.  He  should  take  as  his 
motto,  "Festi-na  lente"  (Hasten  slowly),  and  should  not  con- 
clude that  because  he  can  steer  straight  on  a  clear  road,  it 
is  therefore  safe  to  travel  fast.  Nothing  but  experience  will 
teach  him  to  act  instinctively  in  an  emergency,  and  until  he 
can  so  act  he  is  in  constant  and  imminent  danger  if  he  attempts 
to  drive  fast.  He  must  bear  in  mind  also,  that  a  motor  car 
requires  almost  as  much  sympathy  as  a  horse  if  the  best  re- 
sults are  to  be  attained. 

His  initial  practice  should  be  done  at  a  very  slow  speed, 
not  more  than  from  10  to  15  miles  an  hour.  He  should  learn 
how  to  slow,  to  stop,  to  reverse  and  to  turn,  and'  should 
practice  these  various  operations  until  he  is  perfect.  As  re- 
gards steering,  he  should  not  be  satisfied  until  he  is  able  to 
follow  a  true  course,  and  if,  on  descending  a  steep  hill  for  ex- 
ample, the  steering  should  show  a  tendency  to  get  out  of  con- 
trol and  the  car  to  sway,  he  should  not  lose  his  head  and  jam 
on  his  brakes,  but  should  check  the  car  gradually  by  means  of 
the  throttle  until  he  has  coaxed  it  into  the  way  of  rectitude 
once  more.  Even  with  drivers  who  have  had  some  little  ex- 
perience, this  danger  of  a  swing  from  side  to  side  being  set 
up  is  one  that  has  to  be  reckoned  with. 


56  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

To  slow  down  gradually,  use  the  throttle ;  to  stop  altogether, 
check  the  pace  by  the  same  means,  but  when  the  car  has 
dropped  to  a  speed  of  a  few  miles  an  hour,  declutch  and  apply 
the  hand-brake.  To  stop  in  an  emergency,  declutch  and  apply 
both  brakes,  but  only  to  an  extent  that  is  absolutely  necessary. 

Ascending  Hills. 

When  approaching  a  hill,  it  is  often  well  to  rush  it,  if  the 
coast  is  clear.  For  this  purpose  advance  the  ignition,  open  the 
throttle,  and  temporarily  race  the  engine.  The  momentum  will 
carry  the  car  up  a  considerable  way.  As  the  engine  slows, 
gradually  retard  the  ignition,  and  the  moment  the  engine  shows 
any  signs  of  laboring,  change  on  to  the  next  speed.  As  the 
engine  picks  up  under  the  lighter  load,  the  ignition  can  be 
slightly  advanced  again,  so  as  to  get  the  best  results  out  of  it. 
It  is  a  bad  practice  to  frequently  slip  the  clutch  in  order  to 
struggle  over  the  crest  of  the  hill  without  changing.  When 
climbing  on  the  low  speed  it  is  a  mistake  to  race  the  engine — 
taking  it  for  granted  that  the  gradient  is  well  within  the  car's 
powers.  Racing  is  very  severe  on  the  engine  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, and  will  cause  overheating. 

Descending  Hills. 

In  descending  hills,  both  judgment  and  experience  are  nec- 
essary. If  the  grade  is  gentle  and  the  road  straight,  free  from 
traffic,  and  without  side  roads,  a  fast  pace  may  be  maintained. 
Under  no  circumstances,  however,  should  a  steep  hill  be  de- 
scended fast  if  there  are  blind  turns  or  if  there  is  much  traffic 
about.  On  dangerously  steep  down-grades  it  is  essential  to 
safety  to  begin  the  descent  slowly.  At  a  fast  speed  the  mo- 
mentum is  enormous,  and  once  the  car  has  got  out  of  control 
the  brakes  cannot  be  relied  upon  to  hold  it.  Most  of  the 
serious  accidents  recorded  have  been  due  to  drivers  tackling 
a  dangerous  hill  at  too  fast  a  pace  and  losing  control.  If  the 
driver,  through  want  of  caution,  finds  himself  traveling  too 
fast  on  a  dangerous  descent,  he  should  act  promptly  but  with 
discretion.  To  jam  the  brakes  on  to  their  fnllest  may  only 
cause  one  or  both  to  collapse.  Taking  it  for  granted  that  he 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  57 

is  running  against  compression  (with  the  ignition  switched 
off),  he  should  apply  both  brakes  with  gradually  increasing 
pressure  until  the  speed  is  checked,  and  should  descend  the 
rest  of  the  hill  at  a  slow  speed,  relying  upon  compression  and 
one  of  the  brakes,  using  these  alternately,  so  that  they  will 
not  overheat,  and  keeping  the  other  in  reserve.  If  one  brake 
is  connected  to  the  clutch,  of  course  he  can  only  use  the  other 
in  combination  with  the  engine.  At  a  high  speed  the  engine 
compression  loses  a  large  proportion  of  its  effectiveness,  and 
it  may  then  become  necessary  for  him  to  apply  the  second 
brake,  thus  declutching.  The  operation  should  be  done 
quickly,  but  with  judgment.  On  a  long  hill,  which  is  steep, 
but  not  necessarily  dangerous,  it  is  very  unwise  to  descend 
at  a  high  speed  with  the  brakes  on.  The  heat  generated 
under  such  circumstances  is  enormous,  and  the  brakes  at 
any  moment  may  become  ineffective,  or  even  collapse,  when, 
with  the  high  momentum  obtained,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
stop  the  car.  On  long,  gentle  hills  it  is  advisable  to  switch 
off,  as  this  gives  the  engine  a  chance  of  cooling.  Very  few 
throttles  are  absolutely  gastight. 

When  surmounting  an  exceptionally  steep  incline,  on,  say, 
the  low  speed,  it  is  well  to  keep  in  view  the  possibility  of  a 
shaft  breaking  or  a  chain  coming  off,  when  probably  the  only 
available  brakes,  namely  those  on  the  back  wheels,  might  not 
prove  strong  enough  if  the  car  commenced  to  run  backward. 
A  good  plan  is  to  hug  the  near  side  of  the  road  (if  not  a  preci- 
pice) so  that  if  such  an  accident  occurred  the  car  should  be 
quickly  backed  into  the  curb,  fence  or  gutter.  If  the  road  is 
wide,  however,  hug  the  most  dangerous  side,  and  then,  in  case 
of  a  stoppage  from  the  above  causes,  swing  right  across  the 
road  backward.  The  .car  will  probably  come  to  a  standstill 
before  touching  the  curb  or  fence. 

Driving  in  Public  Streets. 

Exhibition  driving  in  the  public  streets  is  at  least  bad  style. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  there  are  many  people  who  are 
unable  to  judge  how  quickly  your  car  can  stop,  and  though 


58  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

it  may  be  distinctly  humorous  to  see  an  elderly  person  dancing 
a  fandango  in  front  of  a  car  which  has  some  time  previously 
come  to  rest,  there  is  no  doubt  that  much  needless  irritation 
and  dislike  for  automobiles  in  general  may  be  thus  caused. 

If,  in  traffic  driving,  a  doubt  arises  as  to  who  should  give 
way,  be  sure  to  do  so  yourself.  Doubts  of  this  nature  grad- 
ually become  fewer  as  a  driver's  experience  and  judgment  in- 
. crease. 

On  Turning  Corners. 

The  art  of  taking  corners  without  endangering  oneself  and 
other  road  users  is  worth  cultivating.  The  motorist  should 
make  an  invariable  habit  of  keeping  to  his  own  side  of  the 
road  at  these  corners,  even  though,  as  when  turning  to  the  left, 
the  act  of  swinging  wide  will  bring  him  off  the  crown  of  the 
road  and  necessitate  a  slower  pace.  When  turning  to  the 
right,  he  should  not  take  the  corner  at  such  a  speed  as  will 
make  him  swing  wide,  for  if  other  traffic  is  advancing  to  meet 
him,  an  accident  is  very  likely  to  occur.  The  slower  the  corner 
is  taken,  the  less  will  be  the  strain  on  his  differential  gear  and 
tires.  For  this  reason  also  it  is  very  advisable  to  declutch  as 
the  car  begins  to  turn,  and  not  let  the  clutch  into  engagement 
again  until  the  corner  has  been  almost  negotiated.  Another 
important  point  should  be  borne  in  mind,  and  that  is,  that 
the  severe  application  of  the  brakes  when  in  the  act  of  turning 
a  corner  tends  to  upset  the  car,  and,  if  for  this  reason  alone, 
the  corner  should  not  be  taken  fast. 

Passing  Side  Roads. 

Side  roads  constitute  a  very  serious  danger,  especially  if 
the  fences  are  so  high  as  to  obscure  the  view.  If  the  auto- 
mobilist  is  on  the  main  road  he  should  sound  his  horn  and 
slow  down  on  approaching  the  side  road.  His  safest  position 
under  such  circumstances  is  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  as  it 
gives  him  more  scope  for  maneuvering  should  anything 
emerge  from  a  side  road.  At  the  same  time,  should  an  acci- 
dent occur,  his  position  in  the  middle  of  the  road  might  be 
regarded  as  contributory  negligence. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  59 

If  the  automobilist  is  emerging  from  a  side  road  into  a  main 
road  he  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  traffic  on  the  main  road 
has,  so  to  speak,  the  right  of  way,  and  is  justified  in  proceed- 
ing at  a  much  faster  pace  than  the  traffic  emerging  from  the 
side  road;  in  fact,  the  onus,  to  a  great  extent,  devolves  on 
him  to  drive  so  as  to  cause  the  least  possible  risk  of  collision. 
If  he  is  about  to  turn  to  the  right  there  is  little  risk,  because 
the  traffic  advancing  to  meet  him  will  be  either  in  the  middle 
of  the  road  or  to  its  own  right  side,  and,  consequently,  will 
leave  him  ample  room.  If,  however,  he  is  turning  to  the  left, 
great  caution  should  be  observed,  because,  in  this  case,  he  will 
have  to  intercept  the  line  of  approaching  traffic  before  he  can 
get  on  to  his  proper  side  of  the  road.  He  should,  consequently, 
slow  down  to  a  crawl  and  should  hug  the  right  side  of  the 
byroad  until  he  is  in  the  act  of  emerging  on  to  the  main  road, 
when  he  should  gradually  curve  to  the  left,  keeping  a  careful 
lookout  for  approaching  traffic. 

If  on  so  emerging  he  observes,  for  the  first  time,  an  auto- 
mobile or  other  vehicle  in  very  close  proximity,  his  action 
must  depend  on  circumstances,  but  should  be  absolutely  in- 
stantaneous, and  as  such  rapid  decision  can  only  be  acquired 
by  experience,  the  beginner  cannot  exercise  too  great  caution. 
If  there  is  time,  of  course,  he  should  rush  across  to  his  own 
side  of  the  road,  letting  the  approaching  vehicle  pass  behind 
him. 

It  may  happen,  however,  that  the  driver  of  the  approaching 
vehicle  by  an  error  of  judgment  swings  over  to  his  wrong  side 
of  the  road  in  order  to  get  in  front  of  the  emerging  car.  In 
such  a  case,  the  driver  of  the  emerging  car  may  turn  sharp  to 
the  right  into  the  center  of  the  roadway  and  face  in  the  same 
direction  as  the  car  on  the  main  road,  thus  leaving  it  room  to 
pass  on  either  side  of  him.  Of  course,  if  the  car  emerges  from 
the  side  road  at  such  a  very  slow  pace  that  it  can  be  brought 
to  a  stop  within  three  or  four  feet,  and  if  a  wide  turn  has  been 
taken  in  the  first  instance,  the  best  course  would  be  to  jam 
the  brakes  hard  on. 

If  an  accident  does  occur  under  any  circumstances,  whether 


60  A  UTO  MOBILE  DRIVING 

it  is  the  fault  of  the  automobilist  or  not,  the  driver  should 
always  pull  up  and  give  every  assistance  in  his  power.  It 
would  also  be  advisable  for  him  at  once  to  take  the  names 
and  addresses  of  any  witnesses,  and  interview  them  as  to  their 
view  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  accident,  taking  careful 
note  as  to  what  they  say.  Should  proceedings  result,  this  evi- 
dence would  prove  invaluable. 

Courtesy  on  the  Road. 

As  regards  road  users  other  than  automobilists,  no  considera- 
tion can  be  too  great  if  automobile  owners  desire  to  earn  the 
good  will  and  favor  of  the  general  public.  If  a  horse  is  restive, 
the  autoist  should  pull  up  at  once,  and  if  necessary  stop  the 
engine.  Should  a  horse,  however,  suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
begin  to  back  across  the  road,  and  the  driver  is  uncertain 
whether  he  can  stop  his  car  in  time  to  prevent  a  collision,  it 
is  generally  best  to  go  for  the  opening  and  try  to  dash  through 
before  the  way  is  blocked.  There  should  be  no  hesitation, 
however.  The  automobilist  should  either  jam  his  brakes  on 
or  accelerate.  Cyclists  should  be  given  a  wide  berth,  espe- 
cially when  the  road  surface  is  in  a  greasy  condition,  and  the 
practice  of  keeping  on  the  crown  of  the  road,  regardless  of 
other  people's  convenience,  should  be  avoided.  In  process  of 
time  all  other  road  users  will  become  accustomed  to  motor 
car  traffic,  and  it  will  then  be  possible  to  drive  far  faster  in 
safety  and  without  causing  inconvenience  than  it  is  in  many 
places  to-day. 

Consideration  for  Tires. 

The  reliability  and  durability  of  tires  depend  mainly  on 
the  way  in  which  the  car  is  driven.  Excessive  wear  is  caused 
by  letting  in  the  clutch  suddenly,  by  stopping  abruptly,  by 
taking  corners  fast,  and  by  neglecting  to  steer  clear  of  broken 
stones  where  possible.  It  is  also  advisable  when  patches  of 
broken  stones  cannot  be  avoided  to  declutch  momentarily 
while  the  hind  wheels  are  passing  over  the  patch. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  61 

SELF-TUITION  IN  DRIVING. 

The  following  hints  and  tips  constitute  another  effort  to 
convey  to  the  mind  of  the  reader  how  he  may  teach  himself 
to  drive  his  own  car,  presuming  that  the  vehicle  is  delivered 
to  him  at  such  time  and  place  as  make  it  impossible  for  him 
to  obtain  tuition  at  the  hands  of  an  expert  familiar  with  the 
special  make  of  car  he  has  purchased.  Such  preliminary  in- 
struction is  always  to  be  recommended,  but  the  consideration 
of  time,  cost  and  locality  may  render  it  out  of  the  question. 
Let  us  presume  the  new  car  to  be  a  light  one  of  some  1,200 
to  1,600  Ibs.,  driven  by  a  one  or  two-cylindered  engine, 
through  friction  clutch,  change  speed  gear,  propeller-shaft  and 
bevel  gearing  on  differential  gear  of  live  axle.  The  power  of 
the  motor  may  be  anything  up  tc,  say,  10  horsepower.  We 
will  also  presume  that  the  car  has  been  delivered,  and  stands 
in  the  garage  its  owner  has  secured  for  it. 

The  Initial  Trip. 

For  the  first  attempt,  choose  the  most  solitary  stretch  of 
road  you  know  of.  The  novice  does  not  require  any  sort  of 
audience  when  learning  to  drive.  We  take  it  for  granted  that 
our  novice  is  not  ignorant  of  the  dispositions  of  the  car  he 
has  bought,  that  he  has  perused  as  much  literature  dealing 
directly  with  his  purchase  as  he  could  conveniently  come  at, 
and  that  he  knows,  for  instance,  the  difference  between  the 
water  and  gasolene  tanks.  This  is  knowledge  he  must  pos- 
sess, for  no  good  purpose  can  be  served  by  charging  the  wrong1 
tank  with  the  wrong  fluid.  This  sounds  particularly  elemen- 
tary, but  the  mistake  has  been  made  more  than  once,  with 
decidedly  exasperating  results.  Also,  we  take  it  that  our 
novice  has  informed  himself  of  the  use  and  direction  of  move- 
ment of  the  controlling  levers — that  is  to  say,  the  direction 
in  which  to  move  the  sparking  lever  in  order  to  advance  or 
retard  the  spark,  the  proper  actuation  of  the  accelerator  lever, 
to  let  in  or  cut  out  the  governor  (if  such  be  fitted),  and  of  the 
air  lever  (if  the  supply  is  so  controllable).  We  must  also 
presume  equal  knowledge  of  the  use  of  the  gear  changing  and 


62  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

braking  levers,  and  the  clutch  withdrawing  and  braking  pedals. 
The  car,  of  course,  has  been  delivered  with  the  electric  wires 
all  properly  coupled  up  and  the  batteries  charged.  Here  let 
us  interpolate  a  little  advice  before  proceeding  further.  Get 
these  batteries  recharged  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  The 
first  charge  put  into  an  accumulator  does  not  last  long,  and 
the  battery  must  not  be  expected  to  be  on  its  best  behavior 
until  it  has  been  recharged  twice  or  thrice. 

Charging  Tanks. 

Before  the  car  is  moved  out  of  its  garage  the  water  tank 
should  be  filled  with  rainwater,  if  that  is  obtainable ;  if  not, 
with  the  softest  water  than  may  be  at  hand.  It  is  well  to  pour 
the  water  into  the  tank  through  a  funnel  fitted  with  a  rather 
coarse  strainer,  as  foreign  bodies  accidentally  introduced  into 
the  water-cooling  system  cannot  be  withdrawn  easily,  and 
may  do  mischief.  If  your  water  system  is  provided  with  a 
drain-cock,  open  it  before  beginning  to  pour,  and  pour  in  for 
a  little  while  it  is  running.  This  will  prevent  air-locks  in 
the  water  system.  Turn  off  the  drain-cock — which,  by  the 
way,  if  present,  should  be  found  at  the  lowest  point  of  the 
water  system,  when  the  jet  has  run  solid — without  splutter- 
ing or  bubbling,  and  continue  your  filling  until  the  level  of 
the  waste  pipe  from  tank  is  reached,  and  the  water  trickles 
therefrom.  Screw  on  cap  of  water  tank.  Now  fill  the  gaso- 
lene tank.  Among  the  accessories  which  should  be  supplied 
with  the  car  will  be  found  a  funnel  fitted  with  a  gauze  strainer. 
This  must  always  be  used  when  replenishing  the  gasolene 
tank,  for  dirt  or  other  foreign  matter  introduced  thereto  will 
sooner  or  later  give  serious  trouble,  either  by  choking  the 
gasolene  supply  pipe  itself  or  choking  up  the  spraying  jet  in 
the  carbureter.  It  must  be  presumed  that  the  lubricating 
tank  is  full,  that  grease  boxes  have  been  filled,  and  crank 
chamber,  gear-box  and  differential  gear  case  are  properly 
supplied  with  the  requisite  quantities  of  oil.  These  are  points 
which  are  oftec  forgotten. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  63 

Starting  the   Engine. 

Push  your  car  out  of  its  garage  by  hand,  and  then  prepare 
to  start  your  engine.  Now,  it  is  well  to  commence  to  per- 
form the  movements  of  levers,  etc.,  necessary  to  this  opera- 
tion as  they  should  in  future  be  done,  and,  although  this 
sequence  of  acts  must  vary  in  different  makes  of  cars,  we 
give  them  here  as  they  are  usually  performed  on  a  typical 
lo-horsepower  car.  The  first  thing  to  do — and  be  certain  that 
you  do  it — is  to  make  sure  that  your  gear  lever  is  in  the  free 
gear  notch ;  to  put  on  your  side  brakes,  thus  pulling  out  your 
clutch ;  to  retard  the  spark  almost  to  the  lowest  limit ;  and  to 
get  into  the  habit  of  doing  these  three  things  with  certainty 
before  you  do  anything  else.  Operation  number  2.  Move 
accelerator,  or  mixture  lever,  to  the  point  which  will  give 
the  easiest  starting.  In  a  typical  car  the  accelerator  lever  is 
moved  to  a  position  about  one-fourth  down  the  rack  segment, 
but  with  extra  air  admission  most  engines  start  with  all  or 
nearly  all  the  air  shut  off  at  first.  Operation  3.  Open  gaso- 
lene cock  in  gasolene  supply  pipe,  allowing  gasolene  to  flow 
to  carbureter.  If  lever  control  to  air  supply  is  fitted,  place 
that  lever  in  best  position  for  starting.  Also,  if  your  engine 
has  been  standing  some  time  and  is  cold,  it  is  well  to  turn  the 
starting  handle  two  or  three  revolutions,  which  will  expel  all 
common  atmosphere  from  the  tubes,  combustion  chambers 
and  valve  boxes.  Operation  4.  Switch  on  current  and  turn 
on  cylinder  lubricators.  Operation  5.  Press  the  stud  in  the 
top  of  float  feed  chamber  of  carbureter,  so  as  more  or  less 
to  flood  your  carbureter  with  gasolene.  Operation  6.  Press 
starting  handle  in  until  it  engages  properly  with  the  engine- 
shaft,  and  turn  round  slowly  until  you  begin  to  feel  the  com- 
pression. The  handle  should  always  be  turned  against  the 
compression  by  a  pull  towards  the  starter — never  the  reverse — 
as  then,  should  the  engine  back  fire,  the  handle  will  only  be 
torn  from  the  grasp  and  no  harm  be  done.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  compression  is  pushed  against,  and  a  back  fire  takes 
place,  the  starter  is  sure  to  receive  a  nasty  jar,  if  nothing 


64  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

more  serious.     So  pull  against  your  compression  smartly  and 
sharply,  and  the  engine  should  start. 

Ascertaining  the  Correct  Mixture. 

The  next  duty  is  to  take  steps  to  see  that  the  engine  is 
running  to  the  best  advantage.  We  must  presume  the  reader 
knows  which  way  to  move  the  ignition  lever  to  advance  or 
retard  the  spark,  and  the  necessary  movement  of  the  air  lever 
to  give  more  or  less  air;  also  how  to  actuate  the  accelerator 
lever  or  pedal,  if  you  have  got  either  or  both.  Advance  the 
ignition  until  the  engine  begins  to  race.  Then  play  a  bit  with 
the  air  lever,  if  you  have  one,  or  the  ring  cap  opening  and 
closing  air  ports  to  the  carbureter,  until  your  ear  tells  you 
that  the  engine  is  getting  the  mixture  it  likes  best.  If  your 
ear  does  not  inform  you  of  this  at  once,  you  will  very  soon 
discover  its  proper  note,  wrhich  signifies  that  the  engine  is 
quite  satisfied  with  the  quality  of  the  mixture  you  are  feeding 

to  it. 

In  the  Driver's  Seat. 

If  your  circulating  pump  is  friction-driven  off  the  flywheel, 
as  many  pumps  are,  look  at  it  and  see  that  it  is  running  prop- 
erly. Assuming  you  have  no  pressure  gauge,  press  any  rubber 
connection  in  the  water-circulating  system  between  pump  and 
cylinders  to  test  by  the  pulsations  there  whether  your  pump 
is  delivering  properly  or  not.  Now  have  a  look  at  your  cylin- 
der lubricators,  and  see  if  they  are  feeding  properly.  The 
maker's  catalogue  should  tell  you  how  many  drops  a  minute 
should  be  served;  few  catalogues  do,  but  all  should.  With 
the  car  upon  which  these  necessarily  voluminous  instructions 
are  based,  each  drip  should  feed  not  less  than  five  to  seven 
drops  per  minute.  It  is  usually  easier  to  take  your  seat  from 
the  left  than  to  squeeze  in  past  the  levers.  Now  sit  down 
well  and  squarely  before  the  wheel.  Before  you  touch  your 
side  brakes  lever,  put  your  left  foot  on  the  clutch  pedal,  and 

depress  it. 

Manipulating  the  Control. 

Now  the  clutch  is  withdrawn  from  driving  contact  with  the 
flywheel,  and  cannot  return  thereto  until  you  raise  your  foot. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  65 

So  keep  the  pedal  pressed  down  and  take  your  side  brakes 
off.  See  that  the  lever  is  right  back.  Now  move  the  gear 
striking  lever  forward,  so  that  the  V-piece,  or  the  trigger, 
whichever  it  may  be  fitted  with,  slips  into  the  first  speed 
slot  or  groove  made  to  take  it  on  the  sector.  Should  the 
engine  slow  audibly,  and  grunt  and  snort  more  or  less  when 
moving  the  car  away  on  the  first  speed,  it  is  not  running 
fast  enough,  and  must  be  accelerated.  Just  how  much  you 
will  soon  find  out.  Now  raise  your  foot  gently — very  gently — • 
and  easily  until  the  car  begins  to  draw  away.  An  automobile 
should  move  away  from  rest  just  as  the  expert  engine  driver 
loves  to  take  his  flier  away  from  a  depot  platform — that  is, 
so  that  his  passengers  shall  not  be  able  to  say  when  the  train 
first  moved.  Keep  your  own  side  of  the  road,  but  not  too 
close  in.  Now  feel  the  steering,  swing  the  car  slightly  from 
side  to  side,  and  learn  how  much  lock  a  proportionate  move- 
ment of  the  steering  wheel  controls. 

Changing  Gear. 

Take  a  few  corners  on  first  speed.  They  will  teach  you 
just  how  much  it  is  necessary  to  move  your  wheel  to  nego- 
tiate them. 

Now  to  try  a  change  of  speed :  With  a  governed  engine,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  touch  the  ignition  or  throttle  or  accelerator 
levers.  Seize  the  handle  portion  of  the  gear-striking  lever, 
and  squeeze  in  the  trigger  lifter,  if  the  lever  is  so  fitted.  Now 
press  the  pedal  clutch  right  down  to  withdraw  the  clutch,  and 
take  the  driving  force  off  the  car.  With  clutch  so  held  out, 
move  your  gear  lever  forward  until  the  trigger  is  past  the 
first  speed  notch.  Now  release  the  trigger  lifter,  which  you 
have  hitherto  been  holding  close  to  the  handle  of  the  gear 
lever,  and  let  the  trigger  drop  on  to  the  smooth  surface  of 
the  sector.  Now  slide  the  lever  forward  until  you  feel  the 
trigger  drop  into  the  second  speed  notch,  release  lever,  and 
raise  your  clutch  pedal  so  as  to  let  the  clutch  in  gently.  If 
a  jarring  noise  is  heard;  it  means  that,  instead  of  letting  your 
fall  into  the  second  speed  notch  before  you  let  in  your 


66  'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

clutch,  you  slightly  reversed  the  operation,  with  the  result 
that  the  teeth  of  the  driven  toothed  wheel  of  the  second  gear 
were  trying  to  dodge  into  the  spaces  between  the  teeth  of 
the  driving  toothed  wheel  when  the  latter  was  going  the 
faster,  and  spoiling  their  nicely  tooled  entering  edges  in  the 
attempt.  Try  changing  again  several  times  until  the  gears 
can  be  engaged  without  a  lot  of  noise. 

On  the  Top  Speed. 

Now  you  are  on  your  second  speed,  and  you  had  better 
keep  on  it  awhile.  Try  some  more  corners,  and  get  accustomed 
to  the  control  of  the  car  on  the  second  speed.  Press  down 
the  clutch  pedal  gently  from  time  to  time  in  order  to  realize 
just  how  much  declutching  will  slow  the  car;  but  be  careful 
to  let  it  in  gently  as  before.  Do  not  let  the  car  slow  down 
too  much,  as  picking  up  again  on  the  second  speed  is  not 
good  for  the  gear.  Press  down  your  brake  pedal  from  time 
to  time,  and  learn  how  much  stopping  power  it  provides. 
When  you  feel  quite  comfortable  on  second  speed,  and  realize 
that  you  have  control  of  the  car,  change  on  to  third,  but  select 
a  fairly  good  length  of  straight  road  to  run  on  this  gear.  The 
change  is  effected  exactly  as  above  described;  that  is,  press 
down  clutch  pedal,  move  your  lever  forward  into  the  next 
notch,  and  when  it  is  there,  let  your  pedal  come  up  gently. 

In  practising  changing  speed,  it  is  well  to  select  a  stretch  of 
down  grade,  not  a  hill,  but  just  a  very  slight  slope,  as  then  the 
car  will  run  on,  and  you  may  be  more  deliberate  about  your 
pedal  and  lever  movements.  Unclutch  frequently  as  before, 
and  use  the  pedal  brake  gently  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the 
effect  on  third  speed.  Practise  this  well,  for  by  judicious  use 
of  the  clutch  and  gentle  applications  of  the  foot  brake,  it  is 
frequently  possible  to  slow  up  just  enough  to  get  through 
traffic  without  changing  down.  There  is  one  further  instruc- 
tion to  be  remembered,  and  that  is,  when  you  have  changed 
on  to  your  third  or  top  speed,  you  should  retard  or  throttle 
down  the  engine  speed,  for  it  is  not  wise  for  the  novice  to 
drive  at  the  height  of  his  top  speed  right  off  the  reel.  You 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  67 

can  accelerate  the  car  gradually  as  you  gain  more  confidence. 
The  right  thing  to  do  is  never  to  go  fast  till  you  perform 
every  act  of  control  automatically. 

Attacking  a  Hill. 

We  must  presume  now  that  you  have  driven  about  on  level 
roads  until  you  can  steer  fairly  well.  The  next  thing  to  ac- 
quire is  the  knack  of  changing  speed  uphill  in  conformity  with 
the  gradient  attacked.  This,  indeed,  can  hardly  be  called  a 
knack — it  is  almost  an  instinct.  First,  wherever  possible,  it 
is  well  to  put  your  car  at  a  hill  at  its  best  gait  on  its  top  speed. 
It  will  rush  up  well  at  first,  but  gradually  you  will  feel  it 
slackening.  You  have  your  throttle  wide  open  or  your  accel- 
erator down  already,  and  the  only  thing  to  be  done  in  case 
the  car  will  complete  the  climb  on  its  top  is  to  back  down 
the  ignition.  Mind  and  do  this,  or  the  engine  will  knock — 
indeed,  too  early  firing  with  the  engine  running  slow  has  been 
known  to  break  crankshafts.  So  back  down  as  the  car  slows. 

Presently  it  becomes  apparent  that  it  is  not  going  over  the 
hill  en  its  top  and  the  throb  of  the  engine  becomes  accentu- 
ated. This  is  the  moment — or,  indeed,  rather  before,  but  you 
will  learn  it  as  you  go — the  psychological  moment,  to  change 
down  on  to  your  second  speed.  Changing  down  is  not  so 
easy  as  changing  up,  and  requires  more  practice.  When 
properly  done,  grinding  or  groaning  should  in  no  way  be  in 
evidence,  and  there  should  be  no  forward  or  backward  jerk 
of  the  car.  It  should  glide  on  as  though  nothing  had  hap- 
pened, and  you  alone  in  the  car  should  be  conscious  that  any 
change  had  been  made.  But,  as  we  say,  it  is  an  instinct  that 
comes  by  practice — sooner  with  some,  later  with  more,  and 
never  with  a  few. 

Withdrawing  the  Clutch. 

There  is  one  point,  however,  in  changing  down  which  may 
probably  be  observed.  It  is  not  necessary  to  withdraw  the 
clutch  wholly — indeed,  some  well-known  drivers  say  that,  if 
the  change  is  effected  at  the  proper  moment,  there  is  no  need 


68  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

to  withdraw  the  clutch  at  all ;  but  we  do  not  advise  the  novice 
to  try.  The  clutch  should  be  withdrawn  sufficiently  to  admit 
of  it  slipping,  just  how  much  varies  with  every  car,  and  the 
knowledge  thereof  will  only  come  with  practice.  Do  not 
delay  until  the  last  moment  for  changing  down  to  a  lower 
gear,  but  drive  upon  that  gear  upon  which  you  are  running 
to  the  best  possible  advantage.  Keep  the  engine  running  at 
its  normal  speed  as  long  as  possible  by  the  manipulation  of 
the  throttle  and  sparking  advance  lever.  When  the  speed 
of  the  engine  begins  to  drop  slightly  change  at  once. 

Gentle  Handling. 

In  getting  over  the  top  of  a  hill,  do  not  be  in  too  great  a 
hurry  to  change  up  again.  The  man  who  bangs  in  his  second 
or  his  third  before  the  engine  is  ready  to  take  the  car  up 
shortens  the  life  of  his  vehicle,  besides  laying  up  a  store  of 
trouble  for  himself.  The  true  automobilist  will  come  to  feel 
for  his  car,  and  to  learn  just  exactly  what  it  likes  and  how 
it  likes  it.  If  you  breast  the  brow  of  the  hill  on  your  first, 
wait  until  you  hear  your  engine  race  before  you  change  on 
to  your  second,  and  then  wait  again  similarly  before  you  slip 
in  third.  In  pulling  up,  use  your  brakes  gently.  There  are 
times,  of  course,  when  the  brakes  must  be  used  for  a  sudden 
stop ;  but  for  all  ordinary  slacks,  the  throttle  should  be  closed 
or  the  clutch  pedal  should  be  depressed  and  the  car  allowed 
to  slow  down  naturally  and  easily. 

Coasting  Slopes. 

Given  average  intelligence,  the  novice  will  find  that  a  couple 
of  hours'  practice  will  be  sufficient  to  permit  him  to  manage 
his  machine  upon  the  open  roads  with  safety  to  other  people. 
Whenever  the  car  will  coast,  at  a  reasonable  speed  without 
the  engine  driving,  the  driver  will  find  that  this  is  the  safest, 
quietest,  and  most  economical  way  of  descending  slopes.  With 
the  TO  horse-power  machine,  upon  which  these  driving  hints 
have  been  formed  particularly,  it  has  only  been  found  neces- 
sary to  press  down  the  clutch  pedal  and  withdraw  clutch  from 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  69 

contact  with  the  flywheel,  letting  the  clutch  in  gently  as  the 
bottom  of  the  slope  is  approached,  so  that  the  engine  might 
take  up  the  drive. 

Picking  up  the  Drive. 

Just  which  speed  should  be  attained  before  the  clutch  is 
let  in  will  depend  precisely  upon  what  grade  is  next  to  be 
attacked ;  but  if  the  descent  continues  gently  or  is  followed  by 
a  level  stretch,  then  the  third  or  top  speed  should  be  engaged. 
The  car  gaining  some  momentum  from  the  descent,  the  engine 
will  be  found  to  pick  the  drive  up  very  nicely.  If,  howrever, 
the  drop  down  is  followed  almost  immediately  by  a  rise,  then 
the  clutch  should  be  let  in  and  the  gear  engaged  earlier,  in 
order  that  a  good  rush  may  be  made  at  the  opposite  slope. 
When  you  have  learnt  your  car  a  bit,  and  feel  fairly  sure  of 
yourself,  it  is  well  to  accelerate  the  engine  more  or  less  for 
this  sprint. 

Throttling  Down  the  Free  Engine. 

In  descending  hills  with  the  engine  free,  it  should  be  throt- 
tled right  down,  so  as  to  cause  it  to  run  as  slowly  as  possible, 
the  ignition  being  well  backed  at  the  same  time.  Before  strik- 
ing a  gear  and  letting  in  the  clutch,  the  driver  must  not  omit 
to  open  his  throttle,  advance  spark,  and  get  the  engine  running 
at  a  speed  sufficient  to  take  up  the  drive  as  soon  as  the  clutch 
is  let  in.  When  a  switch  is  placed  ready  to  hand,  the  current 
may  be  cut  off  altogether,  so  that  the  engine  stops,  if  the 
character  and  length  of  the  descent  will  warrant  this,  so  that 
when  the  moment  comes  for  taking  up  the  drive,  the  clutch 
let  in,  the  current  switched  on,  and  throttle  opened,  the  mo- 
mentum of  the  car  will  restart  the  engine.  The  precise  speed 
and  grade  on  which  one's  engine  can  be  started  in  this  way 
is  only  to  be  known  by  practice,  so  that  when  our  novice  has 
acquired  some  skill  and  confidence  he  should  essay  to  seek 
the  same. 

Driving  on  the  Reverse. 

Driving  backward  must  be  essayed  carefully,  and  thought 
must  be  taken  to  press  the  clutch  well  out  before  moving  the 


70  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

gear-striking  lever  from  the  free  to  the  reversing  notch  on  the 
quadrant.  It,  of  course,  will  be  recognized  that  we  are  dis- 
cussing a  car  on  which  all  the  speed-changing  is  performed  by 
the  movement  of  one  lever.  When  an  auxiliary  lever  has  to 
be  actuated  to  strike  the  reversing  gear,  then  care  must  be 
taken  to  leave  the  forward  striking  gear  lever  in  the  free  notch 
on  the  quadrant  before  the  reversing  lever  is  touched.  With 
the  clutch  pedal  pressed  well  down,  move  the  lever  to  the  re- 
verse notch,  and,  keeping  your  foot  firmly  upon  the  pedal,  turn 
partially  round  to  the  right  in  your  seat,  so  that  you  can  look 
square  out  of  the  back  of  your  car  over  the  center  or  side. 
In  this  wise,  you  will  find  it  much  easier  to  handle  and  steer 
your  vehicle  to  a  nicety  when  running  astern  than  if  you 
merely  turn  your  head  and  look  over  your  shoulder.  Now 
let  your  clutch  in  gently,  and  as  the  car  begins  to  go  astern 
ascertain  just  the  amount  of  helm  it  is  necessary  to  give  it  for 
any  desired  movement.  As  your  body  is  turned  to  the  right, 
you  have  only  your  left  hand  for  the  wheel,  but  this  will  not 
be  found  difficult  after  a  few  trials. 

The  novice  is  strongly  advised  to  select  a  wide  and  deserted 
stretch  of  road,  and  to  practise  reversing  and  steering  back- 
ward until  he  has  fairly  got  the  hang  of  the  effect  of  his  lock 
when  going  backward.  When  you  have  traveled  back  to  the 
desired  position,  do  not  fail  to  declutch,  and  if  you  are  going 
to  stop  move  your  gear  lever  to  the  free  notch,  or  take  your 
reversing  gear  out  with  your  reversing  lever  if  your  car  is 
so  fitted. 

Entering  the  Garage. 

Driving  in  and  out  of  the  garage  or  barn  may  give  the 
novice  some  concern,  and  in  this  connection  we  would  urge 
strongly  that  neither  in  coming  out  nor  going  in  to  such 
shelter  should  the  beginner  proceed  on  any  other  but  his  first 
speed.  It  is  because  cars  have  so  frequently  to  be  backed 
out  of  their  shelters  that  we  have  already  urged  the  novice 
to  practise  steering  backward.  Whether  he  will  go  into  his 
garage  backward  and  thus  leave  his  vehicle  in  position  to 
come  straight  out,  or  the  reverse,  must  depend  altogether  upon 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  71 

circumstances;  but  if  there  should  be  a  drop  into  the  stable 
of  sufficient  gradient  to  allow  the  car  to  run  down  by  its  own 
weight,  we  should  advise  him  to  drop  in  gently  backward, 
with  clutch  out  and  foot  on  brake  pedal,  for  it  is  less  trouble- 
some so  to  steer  the  car  than  to  drive  out  backward  up  a  slope. 

After  the  Drive. 

Now,  when  the  drive  is  over  and  the  car  is  to  be  put  away, 
the  man  who  wishes  to  keep  all  things  in  order  and  ready  for 
an  immediate  start  will  devote  a  little  time  to  replenishing 
with  lubricating  oil  and  kerosene.  As  soon  as  the  engine  is 
stopped,  and  the  car  is  housed,  lift  the  motor  bonnet,  and  with 
your  kerosene  oilcan  give  the  pistons  two  or  three  good  squirts 
of  kerosene  through  the  cocks  in  the  combustion  chambers 
provided  for  the  purpose.  If  your  engine  is  innocent  of  these 
fittings,  unscrew  your  sparking  plugs  and  dose  through  the 
ports.  Some  people  will  tell  you  to  use  gasolene,  but  most 
prefer  good  kerosene.  The  effect  of  gasolene  in  loosening  the 
piston  rings  vanishes  in  a  very  short  time,  and  if  your  car 
remains  unused  for  a  day  or  two,  the  engine  will  not  turn  so 
easily  when  you  come  to  start  it  up.  Before  turning  off  your 
compression  cocks,  or  replacing  your  sparking  plugs,  turn  the 
engine  round  several  times  by  hand.  This  will  cause  the  kero- 
sene to  cleanse  the  cylinder  walls  and  rings.  Fill  up  lubri- 
cators if  they  require  it,  and  charge  gasolene  and  water  tanks, 
being  careful  afterward  to  screw  down  cap  and  vent  screw  on 
the  former  tightly. 

Do  not  leave  your  switch  on.  If  you  do,  you  may  find  your 
battery  run  down  when  you  next  desire  to  drive. 

If  you  have  time  at  your  disposal,  it  is  well  to  make  a  careful 
survey  of  your  car,  and  to  see  that  no  nuts  have  worked  loose 
and  that  no  bearing  has  run  hot.  Further,  if  you  have  any 
respect  for  your  paint  and  upholstery,  get  a  covering  sheet 
of  canvas  and  cover  up  your  automobile  before  leaving  it. 
Keep  it  covered  always  when  standing  in  the  garage. 

Negotiating  Road  Risks. 
When  driving,  always  bear  in  mind  that  in  the  common 


72  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

state  of  judicial  and  public  opinion  no  excuse  of  any  sort  will 
serve  you  if  you  are  damaged  or  cause  damage  by  passing  on 
your  wrong  side.  To  do  so  when  a  lumbering  dray  occupies 
the  crown  of  the  highway  and  your  proper  section  of  the  road 
is  blocked  while  there  is  ample  room  elsewhere  is  at  times  a 
great  temptation,  and  we  do  not  say  that  it  may  not  occasion- 
ally be  taken  advantage  of.  But  always  bear  in  mind  that  the 
risk  of  vehicles  closing  in,  of  children  of  younger  and  of  older 
growth  darting  out  in  front  of  you,  is  yours  and  yours  alone. 
If  you  are  one  jot  or  tittle  in  the  wrong,  no  matter  how  selfish 
or  stupid  those  whose  property  or  persons  you  may  injure, 
you  will  have  little  or  no  consideration  when  called  upon  to 
pay  the  piper. 

When  overtaking  traffic  and  finding  by  the  time  you  arrive 
abreast  of  the  vehicle  you  intend  to  pass  that  another  coming 
in  the  opposite  direction  will  be  there  before  you,  you  should 
so  speed  your  car  that  when  the  road  is  clear  you  will  be  able 
to  go  ahead  without  changing  speed  or  using  your  brakes.  If, 
however,  you  are  on  your  top  speed  and  your  car  has  slowed 
down  so  that  your  engine  is  thumping,  change  down  before 
you  attempt  to  pass  the  vehicle  in  front. 

Do  your  best  to  accommodate  your  speed  to  the  traffic  you 
are  negotiating,  so  as  to  change  speed  and  use  your  brakes 
as  seldom  as  possible.  By  attention  to  this  you  will  soon  find 
your  eye  becoming  educated  to  distances  and  speeds  and  you 
will  be  astonished  to  find  how  nicely  these  can  be  timed  to 
drive  with  the  least  possible  trouble. 

ANOTHER  LESSON  IN  DRIVING. 

The  methods  that  are  recommended  for  learning  to  drive 
a  motor  car  are  almost  as  numerous  as  the  makes  of  success- 
ful automobiles,  and,  in  order  that  all  the  important  points 
may  be  touched  upon  and  nothing  overlooked,  still  another  set 
of  instructions  for  new  owners  and  drivers,  from  the  stand- 
point of  an  automobilist  of  experience  and  authority,  is  ap- 
pended: 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  73 

Learning  the  Steering  and  Control. 

A  new  owner  will  do  well  in  the  first  place  to  study  the 
construction  and  working  of  his  car,  as  far  as  possible,  while 
it  is  stationary.  As  part  of  this  course,  he  should  spend  some 
time  in  the  driver's  seat,  and  accustom  himself  to  the  positions 
of  the  steering  wheel  and  the  various  levers.  Then  he  may 
venture  out  on  the  road  in  the  company  of  an  experienced 
driver,  and  by  first  resting  his  right  hand  lightly  on  the  steer- 
ing wheel,  learn  the  effect  of  the  different  movements  of  the 
wheel  on  the  course  taken  by  the  car.  Gradually  he  will  be 
able  to  take  charge  of  the  steering  entirely  from  the  left-hand 
seat,  and  then,  occupying  the  driver's  seat,  may  learn  to  steer 
the  car  on  its  first  speed. 

We  will  now  suppose  that  you  are  able  to  steer  the  car,  and 
have  a  general  acquaintance  with  its  various  features,  but 
otherwise  are  very  much  left  to  your  own  resources.  Natur- 
ally, you  are  anxious  to  go  for  a  drive ;  and  here  we  may  give 
a  hint  as  to  the  route  to  be  pursued  on  this  occasion.  Let  it 
be  a  circular  tour  of  short  radius,  and  with  home  as  center. 
In  this  way  the  risk  of  an  expensive  return  in  case  of  a  break- 
down is  greatly  reduced,  and  you  will  have  the  advantage,  in 
all  probability,  of  being  well  acquainted  with  the  whole  of  the 
road  traversed. 

Preliminary  Attentions. 

Before  starting  out,  the  various  nuts  and  bolts  should  be 
looked  over,  especially  on  a  new  car,  and  the  brakes  and  steer- 
ing gear  connections  should  receive  particular  attention.  The 
quantity  of  gasolene  in  the  tank  should  be  ascertained.  If  no 
gauge  glass  is  fitted,  a  celluloid  or  glass  tube  may  be  inserted, 
a  finger  placed  on  the  top,  and  the  tube  lifted  out.  The  height 
of  the  gasolene  in  the  tube  will  indicate  the  quantity  in  the 
tank.  Or  a  clean  white  stick  or  paper  spill  will  serve  as  a 
guide  by  discoloring  the  portion  moistened.  If  more  gasolene 
is  required,  it  should  be  poured  in  through  a  funnel  having  a 
fine  wire  gauze  strainer.  This  strainer  should  be  supple- 
mented by  a  piece  of  fine  white  cambric,  as  this,  when  satu- 


74  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

rated  with  gasolene,  resists  the  passage  of  any  water  that  may 
happen  to  be  in  the  can.  Any  water  collecting  in  the  cambric 
should  be  thrown  away.  See  that  the  spout  of  the  funnel  is 
clean  outside  and  in.  A  little  gasolene  or  kerosene  should  be 
injected  into  each  cylinder  to  free  the  piston  rings  and  (in  the 
case  of  the  gasolene)  to  facilitate  the  obtaining  of  the  first 
explosion.  The  lubricators  should  be  turned  on,  and  the  caps 
of  the  grease  cup  given  a  turn — in  fact,  the  car  should  be 
lubricated  throughout. 

After  having  seen  that  the  gear  lever  is  in  the  out-of-gear 
position,  the  carbureter  should  receive  attention.  It  may  be 
emptied  of  any  stale  gasolene  it  may  contain.  The  mixture 
regulator  may  be  set  to  cut  down  the  quantity  of  air ;  and,  the 
gasolene  cock  having  been  turned  on,  the  float  may  be  agitated 
so  as  to  flood  the  carbureter.  The  throttle  valve  should  be 
opened.  The  electric  current  should  be  switched  on ;  and  be 
careful  to  see  that  the  timing  lever  is  set  well  back.  The  next 
thing  to  do  is  to  release  the  compression,  if  means  for  so  doing 
are  provided,  but  this  is  only  usually  necessary  with  large 
engines. 

Starting  the   Engine. 

The  starting  handle  should  be  turned  round  clockwise  (in 
most  cars)  until  the  resistance  of  the  compression  is  felt.  If 
this  occurs  as  the  handle  is  going  downward,  turn  the  handle 
back  half  a  turn  or  so,  and  then  try  again  until  the  compres- 
sion is  felt  as  the  handle  is  beginning  to  come  upward.  The 
handle  should  be  held  with  the  fingers  of  the  right  hand  under 
it,  and  the  thumb  not  over  it.  When  the  compression  is  felt, 
give  a  strong  and  continuing  pull  upward,  when,  if  all  is  in 
order,  the  motor  will  start.  If  the  ignition  were  too  far  ad- 
vanced, the  explosion  would  drive  the  handle  backward ;  and 
if  you  were  pushing  the  handle  down  at  the  time,  the  chances 
are  }^our  wrist  would  be  broken  or  so  severely  sprained  as  to 
be  useless  for  some  time  to  come.  But  if  you  are  pulling  up, 
the  back  fire  simply  unbends  the  fingers ;  and  though  you  may 
be  a  bit  scared,  you  are  not  likely  to  be  hurt. 

If  the  motor  will  not  start  after  a  few  attempts,  the  ignition 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  75 

may  be  slightly  advanced,  and  different  mixtures  may  be  tried 
for  the  gas.  If  this  will  not  do,  try  further  injections  of  gaso- 
lene into  the  cylinders.  Test  the  ignition  to  see  that  it  is 
sparking  properly.  Sometimes  it  will  be  found  that  the  valves 
having  become  dirty  do  not  move  freely ;  and  if  they  remain 
open  when  they  ought  to  close,  the  engine  cannot  work. 

As  soon  as  the  engine  starts,  the  ignition  may  be  advanced 
somewhat,  and  the  throttle  partly  closed.  Your  passengers 
having  got  aboard,  you  are  ready  to  start.  Hold  the  clutch 
out  by  the  foot,  and  move  the  change  gear  lever  into  the  first 
speed  notch.  If  it  will  not  enter  easily,  allow  the  clutch  to 
engage  slightly  for  a  moment,  and  then  try  to  get  in  gear 
again.  As  soon  as  the  gear  is  engaged,  the  clutch  should  be 
let  in  very  gradually,  the  throttle  being  opened  to  provide 
plenty  of  power.  As  the  clutch  engages,  the  car  will  move  off, 
and  the  run  will  be  begun.  In  starting,  changing  speed,  etc., 
the  finger  catch  (if  any)  must  be  grasped  with  the  handle  of 
the  lever,  but  the  catch  should  be  released  when  it  is  clear  of 
its  notch,  so  that  it  may  be  ready  to  drop  into  the  fresh  notch 
as  soon  as  the  lever  brings  it  opposite  thereto. 

Sometimes  when  the  motor  will  not  consent  to  start  in  the 
ordinary  way,  it  may  be  prevailed  upon  to  do  its  duty  by 
letting  in  the  first  speed  and  clutch,  and  pushing  the  car.  Of 
course,  the  driver  must  be  in  position  so  that  he  can  steer  the 
car  and  control  it  directly  the  motor  begins  to  function. 

Changing  Speed. 

After  the  car  has  got  into  its  stride  on  its  first  speed,  the 
gear  may  be  raised  to  the  next  speed.  To  effect  this,  the  spark- 
ing should  be  advanced  so  as  to  hustle  up  the  motor,  the 
clutch  taken  well  out,  and  the  gear  lever  moved,  with  as  much 
decision  and  promptitude  as  possible,  into  the  next  higher 
notch.  The  clutch  is  let  in  again  quickly,  but  gradually,  and 
the  whole  operation  should  be  performed  with  address,  so  that 
the  speed  of  the  car  may  not  be  sensibly  diminished  during 
the  operation.  Never  put  in  a  higher  gear  until  you  have  be- 
come perfectly  acquainted  with  the  next  lower  one.  It  is  very 


76  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

tempting  to  see  how  fast  the  car  can  go,  or  how  fast  you  dare 
let  it  go,  but  the  temptation  should  be  sternly  resisted  during 
your  novitiate,  otherwise  you  may  never  become  an  expert. 
After  the  car  has  fairly  started,  the  mixture  may  be  varied 
slightly  until  the  best  adjustment  has  been  obtained;  it  should 
then  be  set  with  a  little  more  air.  The  throttle,  too,  should  be 
opened  only  so  far  as  will  allow  of  the  car  being  driven  at  the 
desired  speed  with  the  ignition  well  advanced. 

On  reaching  a  hill,  the  speed  of  the  car  should  be  kept  up 
at  first  by  opening  the  throttle  further  and  further  as  required. 
When  the  limit  of  this  adjustment  has  been  reached,  the  igni- 
tion should  be  gradually  retarded,  especially  if  the  engine  sets 
up  a  knocking  noise.  Some  drivers  are  very  skilful  at  coaxing 
cars  uphill  without  lowering  the  gear,  but  this  practice  is  not 
to  be  commended.  If  the  engine  begins  to  labor  or  the  speed 
of  the  car  has  fallen  to  that  of  the  next  lower  gear,  that  gear 
should  be  brought  into  operation.  The  motor  should  not  be 
allowed  to  run  too  fast  during  the  change ;  and  the  change 
should  be  effected  quickly,  as  the  speed  of  the  car  will  fall 
very  rapidly  while  the  motive  power  is  cut  off.  The  directions 
for  changing  speed  are  soon  given,  but  the  amount  of  success 
with  which  the  driver  carries  them  out  depends  upon  practice 
and  skill. 

Coasting,  Braking,  and  Reversing. 

Down  grades  will  call  for  different  treatment  of  the  engine, 
according  to  their  steepness  and  length.  If  the  hill  is  only  a 
short  one,  the  engine  may  be  left  running  at  a  slow  speed  and 
the  clutch  disengaged.  If  the  hill  is  a  long  one,  the  motor 
may  be  stopped  altogether,  and  the  car  allowed  to  run  down 
by  gravity ;  the  quiet  running  will  be  found  a  welcome  change. 
On  nearing  the  bottom  of  a  hill,  the  clutch  should  be  gradu- 
ally let  in  so  as  to  start  up  the  motor  again.  If  the  hill  is 
very  steep,  the  car  should  be  kept  well  in  hand  from  the  very 
top.  The  first  (lowest)  speed  should  be  put  in  and  the  current 
switched  off;  thus  the  engine  will  be  converted  into  a  pump, 
and  will  serve  as  an  auxiliary  brake,  though  this  is  not  pos- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  77 

sible,   of  course,   where   the   application   of  the   pedal  brake 
throws  out  the  clutch. 

Both  the  foot  and  the  hand  brakes  should  be  tested  soon 
after  starting  out  on  a  run.  If  the  car  shows  a  disposition  to 
get  away  down  a  hill,  the  clutch  should  be  let  in  gently  with 
the  ignition  switched  off  or  the  throttle  quite  closed.  This 
will  serve  to  limit  the  speed  of  the  car.  Broadly  speaking,  and 
in  a  general  way,  the  brakes  should  be  applied  as  little  as  pos- 
sible. One  sometimes  sees  a  car  come  dashing  up  to  its  desti- 
nation, and  pull  up  in  a  few  yards.  This  only  shows  that  the 
driver  has  more  control  over  the  machine  than  he  has  over 
himself.  It  is  smart,  no  doubt,  especially  for  the  tires. 

Nothing  is  gained,  but  rather  the  contrary,  by  applying  the 
brakes  so  hard  as  to  skid  the  wheels.  It  is  really  much  more 
clever  to  throttle  down  gradually  and  let  the  car  arrive  at  the 
desired  point  upon  momentum  only. 

On  reaching  one's  destination,  the  current  should  be  switched 
off,  the  gasolene  tap  closed,  and  the  dripping  of  the  lubricators 
stopped.  The  first  and  the  last  of  these  operations  should  be 
performed  on  stops  of  even  short  duration. 

If  it  is  desired  to  reverse  the  car,  it  must  first  be  brought 
to  a  dead  stop,  the  engine  of  course  being  left  running,  and 
the  clutch  disengaged.  The  reverse  gear  is  now  put  in,  and 
the  clutch  very  gradually  re-engaged.  It  is  as  well  to  practise 
reversing  in  a  wide  space  at  first,  as  the  steering  will  be  found 
somewhat  awkward.  Remember  that  if  you  encounter  a  hill 
that  your  car  cannot  climb,  even  on  the  first  speed,  it  may  be 
able  to  get  up  on  the  reverse,  being  driven  backward,  of  course, 
for  the  purpose. 

As  a  general  rule,  do  not  advance  either  the  timing  of  the 
sparking  or  the  opening  of  the  throttle  suddenly.  The  changes 
effected  by  these  means  should  always  be  made  gradually. 
And,  finally,  practise  with  your  car  until  the  control  of  it 
becomes  perfectly  automatic.  Until  then  you  can  never  trust 
yourself  to  do  the  right  thing  in  an  emergency. 


78  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

Sources  of  Side-slip. 

One  of  the  worst  evils  the  driver  has  to  contend  with  is  that 
of  side-slip,  and  it  is  not  to  be  surprised  at  if  he  loses  his  head 
somewhat  on  the  first  two  or  three  occasions  that  this  diver- 
sion occurs.  The  accident  is  nearly  always  compound — that 
is  to  say,  the  slipping  in  itself  is  not  dangerous ;  but  if  the 
car  strikes  anything  else,  that  thing  will  be  damaged  as  well 
as  the  car. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  in  mechanics  that  if  a  sliding  move- 
ment occurs  between  two  contacting  bodies,  the  one  that  is  in 
motion  may  be  moved  at  an  angle  to  its  path  with  comparative 
ease.  In  driving,  therefore,  on  slippery  surfaces,  great  care 
should  be  taken  to  avoid  any  variation  from  the  true  rolling 
motion  of  the  wheels  on  the  road.  The  variation  may  occur 
in  several  ways.  For  instance,  if  the  engine  be  suddenly  accel- 
erated, the  driving  wheels  will  tend  to  spin  round  instead  of 
merely  rolling  forward.  Again,  if  the  brakes  be  suddenly 
applied,  the  road  wheels  may  rotate  slower  than  the  progress 
of  the  car  corresponds  to,  and,  indeed,  they  may  cease  to  rotate 
at  all,  merely  sliding  along.  Further,  in  passing  over  an  un- 
even road  the  car  may  bounce,  so  that  the  wheels  at  times  are 
actually  out  of  contact  with  the  road  surface.  Under  any  of 
these  conditions,  a  very  slight  disturbing  force  will  be  enough 
to  deflect  the  car  from  its  straight  course,  and  cause  side-slip. 

So  long  as  the  road  is  hard  and  dry,  the  friction  between  the 
tires  and  the  road  surface  will  be  ample  to  prevent  skidding; 
but  if  the  hard  smooth  surface  be  covered  with  thin  mud,  or 
if  a  comparatively  soft  surface  be  covered  with  thick  mud, 
the  car  will  be  prevented  from  obtaining  a  firm  grip  and  may 
begin  to  slide  at  any  moment.  The  same  thing  may,  or  will, 
happen  on  roads  that  are  deep  in  dust ;  but  the  worst  surface 
is  undoubtedly  ice  that  has  begun  to  thaw. 

Another  source  of  side-slip  is  found  in  connection  with 
street  car  lines.  The  lines  themselves,  or  the  tracks  in  which 
they  are  laid,  often  project  above  the  general  level  of  the  road, 
or  sometimes  are  depressed  below  the  same,  in  either  case 
forming  ridges  which  tend  to  prevent  the  car  traveling  at  an 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  79 

angle  thereto.  The  disturbing  effect  is  greatest  when  the  lines 
are  wet.  Probably  the  fact  that  cars  are  driven  from  the  back 
and  steered  by  the  front  contributes  to  their  tendency  to  slip, 
as  the  rear  part  has  a  disposition  to  push  round  the  front,  on 
one  side  or  the  other.  Of  course,  the  greatest  tendency  to 
side-slip  occurs  when  the  car  is  being  driven  round  a  corner, 
as  the  centrifugal  force  then  exerts  a  considerable  lateral 
pressure  upon  the  vehicle. 

To  Avoid  Skidding. 

To  avoid  side-slip  our  novice  may  take  certain  precautions. 
We  will  not  say,  do  not  take  the  car  out  when  the  roads  are 
slippery,  because  it  may  not  always  be  possible  to  follow  that 
advice ;  and  further,  though  the  roads  may  be  perfectly  safe  as 
a  rule,  you  may  find  that  a  sprinkling  cart  has  made  them 
quite  the  reverse  over  more  or  less  restricted  sections.  But 
when  a  greasy  stretch  is  encountered,  proceed  slowly,  especially 
in  making  turns.  If  the  car  begins  to  slip,  keep  your  wits 
about  you  and  begin  to  steer  in  the  direction  of  the  slip.  This 
may  be  exactly  contrary  to  your  inclination,  but  it  will  tend  to 
restore  the  grip  of  the  wheels  on  the  road;  and  as  soon  as 
this  result  is  attained,  you  may  begin  carefully  to  steer  again 
in  the  direction  you  wish  to  follow.  As  the  camber  or  trans- 
verse curve  of  the  road  surface  helps  to  promote  side-slip,  one 
should  drive  as  much  on  the  crown  of  the  road  as  considera- 
tion for  other  traffic  will  allow. 

In  turning  corners  to  the  right,  take  the  right  side  of  the 
road ;  but  in  turning  corners  to  the  left,  only  take  the  left 
side  of  the  road  if  you  can  see  that  the  course  is  clear.  If  you 
keep  on  the  inside  of  the  corner,  the  transverse  inclination  of 
the  road  will  help  to  get  the  car  round.  In  taking  corners, 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  declutch,  and  also  to  abstain  from  putting 
on  the  brakes ;  the  chances  of  getting  round  safely  are  much 
increased  if  the  car  simply  rolls  round  the  curve.  Street  car 
tracks  should  be  crossed  at  as  nearly  a  right  angle  as  possible. 
But  if  you  are  running  along  a  crowded  road  laid  with  car 
tracks,  and  wish  to  get  on  to  or  off  from  the  track,  the  steering 


80  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

should  be  as  gradual  as  possible,  so  that  if  the  wheels  refuse 
to  take  the  ridges,  the  disturbing  effect  will  be  very  small.  One 
grain  of  comfort  we  can  give :  Side-slip  is  practically  never 
accompanied  by  overturning,  unless  the  car  catches  against 
some  low  object. 

Non-slip  Devices. 

Prevention,  however,  is  better  than  cure,  and  it  is  well  to 
adopt  some  form  of  non-slipping  device.  Nearly  all  of  these 
devices  consist  of  some  apparatus  fitted  to  the  tires  and  de- 
signed to  cut  through  the  grease,  and  so  obtain  a  hold  on  the 
firm  surface  below. 

A  fairly  effective  non-slipper  may  be  improvised  by  winding 
strong  cord  round  the  tire  and  felloes  in  spiral  form.  The 
ends  of  the  cord  must  be  carefully  secured,  and  the  cord  itself 
examined  frequently,  and  renewed  as  required.  In  any  case 
it  is  best  to  fit  all  four  wheels  with  the  non-slippers. 

Choice  of  Track. 

Too  many  drivers  simply  take  the  road  as  it  comes  without 
troubling  to  select  the  best  path.  Possibly  they  are  not  aware 
that  every  bump  means  waste  of  power  and  increased  wear 
to  the  car.  But  such  is  undoubtedly  the  case.  One  can  often 
detect  the  fact  that  the  driver  is  an  experienced  cyclist  from 
the  way  in  which  he  picks  his  course.  We  do  not  mean,  of 
course,  that  the  driver  should  keep  the  car  perpetually  on  the 
wriggle,  but  simply  that  where  he  has  the  choice  to  make,  he 
should  take  the  line  which  will  be  best  for  the  vehicle  and  most 
comfortable  for  the  passengers.  Thus  a  smooth  surface  is  to 
be  preferred  to  a  rough  one ;  dry  ground  is  better  than  wet ; 
the  crown  of  the  road  gives  better  running  than  the  sloping 
sides ;  and  all  reasonable  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  holes 
and  loose  stones.  If  a  patch  of  new  macadam  cannot  be 
avoided,  it  is  best  to  drive  up  to  it  at  a  good  speed  and  then 
declutch,  so  that  the  wheels  merely  roll  over  the  stones,  with- 
out being  subjected  to  the  additional  strain  set  up  by  driving. 
If  the  momentum  is  not  sufficient  to  carry  the  car  the  full 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  81 

length   of  the  patch,  the   remainder  should  be   driven  over 
quietly  at  slew  speed. 

Emergencies  and  General  Conduct. 

As  a  rule,  the  steering  of  the  car,  like  the  manipulation  of 
the  throttle  and  spark  timing,  should  be  performed  gradually. 
It  is  very  bad  for  the  tires  and  most  provocative  of  side-slip, 
to  swing  the  steering  wheel  suddenly  from  one  position  to 
another.  Perhaps  the  only  times  when  this  may  be  excused 
is  when  accidents  would  otherwise  occur;  as,  for  instance, 
when  people,  especially  children,  rush  across  in  front  of  one 
without  looking.  Again,  if  a  car  begins  to  run  back  down 
a  hill,  the  steering  wheel  should  be  promptly  rotated  so  as 
to  change  the  course  of  the  car  to  a  transverse  direction.  The 
brakes  should  be  applied  at  the  same  time  to  prevent,  if  pos- 
sible, charging  into  the  bank,  fence  or  other  side  of  the  road. 
It  is  much  better  to  collide  with  the  fence  at  the  top  of  the  hill 
than  at  the  bottom — we  mean,  stop  the  car  before  it  has  gath- 
ered speed. 

The  automobilist's  reputation  being  in  many  places  none  of 
the  best,  it  is  most  important  to  drive  as  inoffensively  as  pos- 
sible. It  is  not  enough  merely  to  have  regard  to  the  safety  of 
other  road  users.  One  must  avoid  driving  in  such  a  way  as  to 
let  them  think  that  they  have  been  in  danger.  It  is  almost, 
if  not  quite,  as  bad  to  offend  a  man's  dignity  by  running  him 
fine  (as  he  imagines)  as  to  knock  him  down.  As  a  general 
rule,  it  is  far  safer  to  pass  behind  people  than  in  front  of  them, 
when  their  path  intersects  your  own.  The  horn  or  gong  should 
be  used  fairly  freely,  though  in  blasts  of  short  duration,  the 
idea  being  rather  to  comply  with  the  law  than  directly  to 
profit  by  the  signaling. 

Never  drive  so  fast  that  you  cannot  come  to  a  dead  stos 
within  the  length  of  road  for  the  time  being  seen  to  be  cleai. 
Do  not  discommode  or  endanger  other  users  of  the  road  or  the 
inhabitants  of  roadside  houses  by  raising  an  excessive  amount 
of  dust,  and  do  not  bespatter  pedestrians  with  mud.  These 
things  may  seem  a  good  deal  to  ask,  but  are  not  too  much,  we 


82  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

think,  to  require  from  one  who  is  after  all  merely  taking  his 
pleasure  in  public. 

Speed  Limits. 

Speed  limits  are  misguiding.  There  can  be  no  harm  morally 
in  disregarding  them  where  the  road  and  its  approaches  can 
be  seen  to  be  clear;  and  they  do  not  license  one  to  travel  up 
to  them,  where  to  do  so  would  be  to  endanger  the  public.  With 
the  best  intentions  in  the  world,  one  is  liable  to  travel  too 
fast  unwittingly  at  times.  Thus,  after  a  clear  run  at  a  good 
speed  in  the  open,  the  pace  is  reduced  to  what  seems  a  mere 
crawl  on  reaching  a  village.  The  driver  contrasts  his  crawl 
with  the  speed  he  has  just  been  running  at ;  the  village  resi- 
dent, on  the  contrary,  compares  it  with  the  rate  of  progress  of 
the  local  horses — and  the  resulting  impressions  are  naturally 
somewhat  different.  A  speedometer  has  its  uses. 

Do  not  confine  your  attention  to  the  road  merely;  have  an 
eye  open  for  somnambulistic  pedestrians  with  a  weakness  for 
leaving  one  path  for  the  other  with  no  regard  for  the  traffic 
on  the  roadway.  Treat  them  gently;  it  spoils  their  temper 
to  wake  them  suddenly.  Do  not  be  satisfied  with  being  in  the 
right ;  keep  out  of  scrimmages  at  all  costs,  for  the  automobilist 
cannot  reckon  on  justice  in  these  days.  Observe  the  rules  of 
the  road,  that  is,  keep  to  the  right  when  meeting  other  vehicles, 
and  to  the  left  when  overtaking  them.  But  these  rules'^must 
be  disobeyed  if  necessary  to  avoid  an  accident. 

Driving  through  City  Traffic. 

In  driving  through  towns  and  cities  one  should  be  careful 
to  see  that  the  course  is  clear  before  attempting  to  overtake 
vehicles  in  front.  It  is  not  always  necessary  to  swing  round 
to  the  off  side  in  order  to  ascertain  the  possibility  of  getting 
by,  as  many  vehicles  can  be  seen  right  through  from  end  to 
end.  When  about  to  turn  off  to  the  right  or  left,  in  crowded 
thoroughfares,  it  is  a  good  rule  that  the  driver  should  hold 
out  one  hand  to  that  side ;  and  for  stopping  he  should  hold 
one  hand  straight  up.  As  you  approach  a  cross  street,  the  win- 
dows you  see  in  that  street  often  reflect  what  is  coming  up  to 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  83 

your  road ;  and  by  looking  at  the  windows  at  your  side,  you 
can  also  often  see  reflected  the  traffic  that  is  coming  behind 
you. 

Pedestrians  are  allowed  to  walk  where  they  like  on  a  road 
provided  they  do  not  unreasonably  obstruct  other  traffic.  A 
led  horse  should  be  passed  (in  either  direction)  on  the  side  of 
the  man  leading  it ;  but  this  is  convention  rather  than  law. 
Street  cars  should  be  met  and  overtaken  on  the  right  side  of 
the  road. 

Horses,  Cattle,  and  Cyclists. 

Horses  are  now  fairly  well  accustomed  to  motor  cars  in  most 
districts;  but  in  remote  places  many  owners  have  taken  little 
or  no  trouble  to  educate  their  animals  to  the  new  method  of 
locomotion,  and  special  care  must  be  exercised  in  dealing  with 
them.  In  meeting  a  doubtful  horse,  it  is  best  to  proceed  slowly 
and  be  ready  to  stop  at  any  moment,  whether  the  driver  holds 
up  his  hand  or  not.  Some  horses  have  an  unpleasant  trick 
of  looking  perfectly  unconcerned  until  almost  up  to  the  car, 
and  then  suddenly  backing  right  across  the  road.  Under  these 
circumstances,  the  automobilist  will  have  to  act  very  promptly 
if  a  collision  is  to  be  avoided. 

In  overtaking  nervous  horses,  it  is  best  to  drive  quickly  and 
quietly,  so  as  to  shorten  the  incident  as  much  as  possible.  Un- 
less time  is  precious,  one  may  offer  to  spend  a  few  minutes  in 
improving  a  badly  trained  horse's  acquaintance  with  motor 
cars.  The  horse  owner's  opinions  on  the  subject  are  generally 
as  much  improved  as  those  of  his  animal.  Great  care  should 
be  exercised  in  overtaking  wagons  carrying  poles  and  other 
long  burdens;  as,  if  the  driver  draws  his  horse  over  to  one 
side,  the  tail  of  the  load  swings  across  the  road,  and  momen- 
tarily obstructs  the  other  side. 

The  perfect  control  one  has  over  a  car  tempts  one  to  assume 
that  all  other  road  users  are  in  equal  command  of  their  means 
of  conveyance.  But  this  is  a  very  unsafe  assumption.  Every 
rider  and  driver  has  a  period  of  inexperience ;  and  even  those 
who  have  got  over  their  novitiate  are  liable  to  lose  their  heads 
at  times,  as,  for  example,  on  hearing  a  car  coming  up  behind 


84  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

them.  The  only  safe  course,  therefore,  is  to  see  how  much, 
not  how  little,  space  one  can  give  cyclists,  horsemen,  and 
others.  Remember  especially  that  a  cyclist's  position  is  always 
more  or  less  dangerous  when  the  road  is  wet  and  slopes  to  the 
gutters. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  85 


PART  V. 

DIFFICULTY   IN   STARTING. 

In  the  pages  immediately  following  we  point  out  the  reme- 
dies for  most  of  the  ordinary  troubles  met  with  by  the  motorist 
from  time  to  time,  beginning  with  those  which  may  cause 
difficulty  in  starting.  No  beginner  should  be  discouraged, 
however,  at  the  length  of  the  list  of  possible  causes  of  trouble. 
He  would  be  indeed  an  unlucky  driver  that  experienced  re- 
peated difficulties  in  starting  and  the  list  given  is  that  of 
possible,  not  probable,  causes  of  annoyance  and  delay.  It  will 
arm  the  motorist  against  what  may  happen. 

Difficulty  in  Starting — It  has  been  truly  said  that  a  gasolene 
motor  is  a  thing  of  freak  notions ;  it  has  been  known  to  be 
running  perfectly  all  one  day  and  almost  impossible  to  start 
the  next  morning,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  not  a  single 
piece  of  the  mechanism  has  been  disturbed — by  mortal  hand. 
Yet,  where  a  motor  stops  or  fails  to  start,  let  it  be  known  there 
is  a  cause;  the  chief  difficulty  for  the  beginner — and  some- 
times for  the  wisest  expert — is  to  locate  the  cause,  which,  once 
discovered,  is  usually  easily  remedied.  Trouble  in  starting,  ex- 
cept in  cold  weather,  when  atmospheric  conditions  determine 
things,  is  usually  traceable  to  some  minor  disarrangement  and 
probably  90  per  cent  of  all  such  troubles  may  safely  be  traced 


86  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

either  to  the  ignition  system  or  the  carbureter  and  its  very 
close  relatives.  Aside  from  the  reasons  here  given  for  a  motor 
failing  to  start  as  the  operator  would  have  it,  there  have  been 
other  reasons  and  there  will  in  the  future  be  found  still  more. 
Ordinarily  the  operator  who  has  difficulty  in  starting  his  motor 
will  find  the  reason  set  forth  in  the  paragraphs  under  this 
heading;  if  the  reason  is  still  remote  the  case  will  probably  be 
a  difficult  one  and  beyond  the  imagination  of  any  man  who 
is  any  distance  from  the  balky  piece  of  machinery.  Difficul- 
ties in  starting  are  taken  up  in  their  probable  order  of  likeli- 
hood. 

Ignition. 

Batteries  Weak — Test  each  dry  cell  with  an  ammeter ;  if  it 
shows  under  5  or  6  amperes,  replace  it  with  a  new  one.  Bet- 
ter still,  discard  the  set  and  put  in  a  new  one.  If  there  are 
two  sets  and  each  set  is  weak,  connect  the  two  sets  in  series, 
?\hich  will  suffice  for  a  time.  It  is  well  to  always  carry  an 
ammeter  so  that  in  purchasing  new  cells  they  may  be  tested. 
New  ones  should  test  in  the  neighborhood  of  from  15  to  17 
amperes. 

Storage  batteries  must  not  be  tested  with  an  ammeter  or  a 
voltmeter.  Attach  a  wire  to  one  pole  and  snap  the  free  end 
across  the  other  pole.  If  a  large,  snappy  spark  results,  the 
battery  is  all  right.  A  storage  battery  never  should  be  per- 
mitted to  be  completely  exhausted ;  nor  should  it  be  permitted 
to  stand  without  some  use  for  any  length  of  time,  otherwise 
it  may  be  ruined. 

Switch  Off — A  most  common  oversight,  even  with  old  mo- 
torists. 

Loose  Connections — Battery  terminals  or  wire  leading  to 
switch  or  coil  disconnected. — If  switch  is  on  and  vibrators  do 
not  buzz,  trace  the  wires  for  the  disconnection. 

Incorrect  Wiring — This  will  not  be  the  case  where  the  motor 
has  been  running  and  no  alterations  have  been  made ;  it  may 
occur  when  the  wiring  has  been  changed  or  replaced  after 
overhauling.  Consult  the  diagram  of  wiring  as  secured  from 
the  seller  and  see  that  the  wiring  scheme  is  correct. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  87 

plugs — (a)  Plugs  fouled  with  oil  or  carbon — Remove  and 
clean. 

(b)  Points  on  make-and-break  sooted  or  fouled — Clean  with 
fine  file  or  emery  paper. 

(c)  Short   circuit   through   broken   or   cracked   porcelain — 
Replace  with  new  plug. 

(d)  Points  too  close  or  too  far  apart — Reset  to  have  1/32 
inch  gap. 

Coil — (a)  Vibrators  stuck — Readjust  after  cleaning  to  re- 
move possible  pitting  or  dirt,  destroying  contact. 

(b)  Tension  of  vibrator  spring  too  great  for  partially  run- 
down batteries. — Readjust  to  meet  battery  condition. 

(c)  Coil  wet — Remove  and  take  to  coil  man  for  repairs. 

(d)  Condenser  in  coil  punctured  (through  use  of  too  high 
voltage,  for  instance) — Same  remedy. 

(e)  Wire  from  battery  or  commutator  disconnected — Re- 
place. 

(f)  Secondary  wire  disconnected  or  broken  (but  this  will 
not  prevent  vibrators  from  buzzing). 

Spark  Lever — (a)  Connections  slipped,  retarding  spark. — 
Reset  as  per  information  obtained  when  purchasing  car. 

(b)  Connections  from  spark  lever  to  commutator  discon- 
nected— Go  over  and  secure  as  originally. 

Carbureter — Gasolene. 

(a)  Throttle  closed— Open. 

(b)  Gasolene  tank  empty — Fill. 

(c)  Shut-off  valve  in  gasolene  line  closed — Open. 

(d)  Water  in  gasolene  tank,  carbureter  or  line — Drain  from 
bottom  of  carbureter,  or  disconnect  pipe  at  lowest  point,  if 
there  is  no  drain  cock,  and  let  about  a  pint  drain  off. 

In  winter  water  will  freeze  in  carbureter  or  pipe  line  and 
absolutely  shut  off  the  gasolene  supply. 

(e)  Dirt  in  carbureter,  choking  spray  nozzle — Drain  car- 
bureter and  if  necessary  take  out  to  clean,  being  careful  not  to 
disturb  adjustments. 


88  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

(f)  Float  level  too  high — This  will  cause  flooding  of  car- 
bureter, too  rich  mixture  and  sluggish  starting,  if  any. 

Inasmuch  as  carbureters  differ,  no  rule  for  changing  the 
float  level  can  be  laid  down.  See  Carbureters. 

(g)  Float  punctured  or  leaky,  preventing  valve  from  shut- 
ting off  and  causing  carbureter  to  flood — Secure  new  float. 

(h)  Float  level  too  low,  causing  weak  mixture. 

(i)  Air  valve  spring  tension  too  great,  causing  too  rich 
mixture ;  too  weak,  causing  motor  to  take- too  much  air  and  too 
little  gasolene. 

Lack  of  Suction. 

(a)  Valves   stuck,  holding  open,   preventing   suction   and 
compression.    This  will  occur  in  cold  weather  if  the  stems  are 
gummed  with  oil. 

(b)  Valve  springs  weak  or  broken.  If  weak,  stretch  out  for 
temporary  repair ;  if  broken,  remove  and  place  an  iron  washer 
over  the  stem  and  between  the  pieces  of  spring. 

(c)  Poor  compression  through  fouled  valves — Remove  and 
grind.    See  "Useful  Information." 

(d)  Leak  in  intake  pipe  joints — Set  up  cap  screws,  nuts  or 
whatever  holds  pipe  to  cylinders ;  if  necessary  put  in  new  pack- 
ing of  asbestos,  with  shellac  on  either  side. 

(e)  Relief  cocks  open — Close. 

(f)  Plugs  not  tight — Screw  in  close,  use  copper  gasket  if 
plug  has  shoulder.     If  threads  are  worn  use  litharge  and  gly- 
cerine, in  paste,  to  take  up  wear,  same  as  plumber  would  use 
red  lead. 

(g)  Valve  pocket  caps  or  valve  cage  ring  nuts  loose — Set 
down;  use  litharge  and  glycerine  if  badly  worn. 

(h)  Piston  rings  stuck — Put  kerosene  in  cylinders,  leave 
stand  few  hours  to  loosen  rings. 

(i)  Carbureter  connection  to  intake  pipe  loose — Tighten 
and  put  in  new  gasket  if  necessary. 

In  Winter — Cold  Engine. 

(a)  Flood  carbureter. 

(b)  Close  air  intake  with  cloth. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  89 

(c)  Prime  cylinders  with  half  teaspoonful  gasolene. 

(d)  Advance  spark  little  more  than  usual,  because  of  lag 
in  ignition. 

(e)  Soak  cloth  with  gasolene  and  put  in  air  intake  so  gas 
can  be  drawn  into  cylinders. 

(f)  Keep  throttle  well  open. 

(g)  Warm  carbureter  with  cloth  soaked  in  hot  water;  or 
pour  hot  water  on  carbureter,  being  sure  no  water  gets  into  air 
intake. 

Valves  Set  Wrong. 

If  the  valves  are  set  so  as  to  open  and  close  at  the  wrong 
time  the  motor  will  not  start  and  will  not  run.  Thus  it  is 
essential  that  the  valve  setting  be  known  and  known  to  be 
correct. 


:X)  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


PART  VI. 
INVOLUNTARY  STOPS. 

Nothing  is  more  annoying  to  the  motorist  than  to  have 
his  car  suddenly  stop  without  apoarent  cause.  Whether  he 
be  driving  on  city  streets  or  touring  the.  country  roads  such 
a  stoppage  may  often  be  embarrassing  in  the  extreme  unless 
the  driver  is  equipped  with  sufficient  knowledge  of  possible 
causes  to  locate  the  trouble  and  apply  the  proper  remedy.  The 
most  likely  causes  are  indicated  below  and  the  respective 
remedies  are  duly  prescribed. 

Involuntary  Stops — Of  course,  the  car  may  pull  up  for  de- 
fects other  than  those  connected  with  the  engine,  but  the  most 
frequent  causes  of  stoppages  (with  the  exception  of  tire 
troubles)  are  due  to  failures  of  the  motor.  With  a  little  ex- 
perience one  can  often  guess  the  cause  of  the  trouble  from 
the  way  in  which  the  stoppages  occur.  Thus,  if  the  firing  cease 
suddenly,  it  is  probably  due  to  a  breakage  in  the  electric  sys- 
tem, or  to  the  seizing  of  one  of  the  pistons,  or  to  one  of  the 
valves  sticking  or  breaking,  or,  lastly,  to  obstruction  of  the 
carbureter.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  engine  expires  gradu- 
ally, the  trouble  probably  arises  from  failure  of  the  water  cir- 
culation, or  the  supply  of  gasolene  or  lubricating  oil,  or  to 
the  choking  of  the  gauzes  in  the  carbureter  by  dust  or  ice,  or 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  91 

to  the  leakage  of  the  float  or  of  the  compression.  Thirdly,  if 
the  firing  is  intermittent,  it  indicates  a  discharged  battery,  a 
loose  electrical  connection,  or  a  cracked  sparking  plug.  We 
do  not  mean  to  say  that  this  analysis  is  exhaustive,  but  it  is  a 
guide  which  will  generally  be  found  correct. 

Failure  of  Gasolene. 

We  will  consider  some  of  the  defects  to  which  the  various 
elements  of  a  car  are  subject.  If  the  gasolene  is  fed  from  the 
tank  by  gravity,  the  supply  may  cease  owing  to  the  fact  that 
air  is  unable  to  enter  the  tank.  The  remedy  is  to  unscrew  the 
cap  and  let  more  air  in.  The  cap  should  have  a  small  airhole 
in  it.  Some  tanks  are  provided  with  two  caps,  one  having  an 
airhole  and  the  other  not.  The  former  is  used  during  running; 
and  evaporation  is  prevented  by  using  the  latter  at  other  times. 
If  the  gasolene  be  fed  under  pressure,  failure  of  the  pressure 
will,  of  course,  cause  failure  of  supply.  The  most  common 
cause  of  failure  of  supply  is  that  the  stock  is  exhausted.  This 
generally  means  negligence,  and  it  is  always  a  good  plan  to 
carry  one  or  two  spare  cans  of  gasolene  to  be  used  in  case  of 
emergency. 

Carbureter  Complaints. 

The  carbureter's  most  usual  complaint  consists  in  stoppage 
of  the  jet  by  some  solid  particle  carried  into  it  by  the  gaso- 
lene. If  this  be  suspected  while  the  car  is  running,  the  air 
supply  may  be  reduced  suddenly,  so  as  to  cause  increased  suc- 
tion at  the  jet.  If  this  does  not  remove  the  obstacle,  one 
should  agitate  the  float.  If  the  carbureter  floods  and  over- 
flows from  the  jet  chamber,  the  trouble  has  probably  been  got 
over;  if  it  does  not,  the  passage  to  the  jet  should  be  opened, 
and  a  fine  wire  pushed  through.  Do  not  use  a  needle  or  other 
hard  wire  for  this  purpose,  as  it  may  break  off  in  the  jet.  A 
piece  of  florist's  wire,  or  wire  off  a  mineral  water  bottle,  if  not 
too  thick,  will  serve  very  well.  If  the  carbureter  is  provided 
with  a  well  or  filter,  this  should  be  opened,  so  that  the  precipi- 
tate may  be  removed.  The  cock  in  the  gasolene  supply  pipe 
should  be  turned  off  first,  othenvise  a  quantity  of  gasolene  will 


92  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

be  wasted.  Or  it  may  be  found  that  water  has  collected  in  the 
carbureter;  this  may  be  removed  in  the  same  way  by  empty- 
ing the  well. 

Float  and   Needle   Defects. 

A  more  awkward  situation  is  created  when  the  float  leaks ; 
this,  of  course,  upsets  the  balance  of  the  carbureter,  and  pre- 
vents the  gasolene  standing  at  the  right  height.  One  can 
easily  tell  if  there  is  gasolene  in  the  float  by  taking  it  out  and 
shaking  it.  To  cure  the  trouble,  warm  the  float  and  apply  a 
light  to  it ;  the  gasolene  will  be  vaporized,  and  will  catch  light 
at  the  hole  by  which  it  entered.  Put  out  the  flame,  mark  the 
hole,  and,  if  it  is  not  large  enough  to  pour  out  the  gasolene 
through,  make  another  hole  in  the  top  of  the  float  and  pour  it 
out  through  that.  When  the  float  is  empty,  re-solder  both 
holes,  using  as  little  solder  as  possible,  so  as  not  to  alter  the 
weight  of  float.  This  method  should  only  be  resorted  to  in 
an  emergency,  however,  as  it  might  result  in  much  more  harm 
than  good.  Another  way  is  simply  to  remove  the  float  and 
regulate  the  supply  to  the  jet  by  the  cock  in  the  feed-pipe. 

A  defective  needle  valve  will  upset  the  working  of  the  car- 
bureter. If  it  arise  from  bending  of  the  needle,  it  may  be  reme- 
died by  straightening  the  needle,  and,  if  necessary,  regrinding-in 
the  valve.  This  grinding  operation  is  similar  to  that  of  grind- 
ing-in  the  motor  valves,  which  should  be  studied.  Sometimes 
the  gauze  screens  through  which  the  air  and  gasolene  are 
admitted  get  so  clogged  up  with  dirt  that  the  supply  of  these 
two  fluids  becomes  insufficient.  A  little  careful  cleaning  is 
all  that  is  required.  In  cold,  damp  weather  a  block  of  ice  will 
sometimes  form  on  the  gauze  screen  at  the  carbureter  end  of 
the  inlet  pipe,  and  the  simplest  way  to  deal  with  this  is  to  re- 
move the  screen.  Many  carbureters  are  provided  with  heat- 
ing arrangements,  and  if  these  are  fitted  with  a  cock,  the  cock 
should  be  opened  on  such  occasions. 

Ignition  Troubles. 

The  ignition  is  a  most  fruitful  source  of  stoppages,  especially 
when  on  the  battery  and  coil  system ;  and  the  spark  gap  de- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  93 

vice,  if  not  of  much  use  as  an  intensifier,  is  certainly  of  con- 
siderable value  as  an  index  of  the  state  of  the  system.  If  a 
good  spark  is  shown  at  the  gap  one  may  fairly  conclude  that 
the  ignition  is  in  fair  order  up  to  that  point,  and  first  attention 
may  therefore  be  given  to  the  sparking  plug.  If  there  is  no 
spark  gap,  one  may  detach  the  high-tension  wire  from  the  plug 
and  hold  the  end  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  from  any  metallic 
part  of  the  engine.  Hold  the  wire  by  the  insulation,  and, 
better  still,  wrap  a  thick  cloth  round  this;  then  turn  the 
starting  handle,  and  see  whether  a  good  spark  passes  from 
the  end  of  the  wire.  If  it  does,  unscrew  the  plug  from  the 
cylinder,  and  probably  you  will  find  that  the  points,  and 
very  likely  the  end  of  the  porcelain  also,  are  covered  with  a 
carbon  deposit.  Clean  this  off  with  gasolene  and  an  old  tooth- 
brush, and  polish  up  the  faces  of  the  points  with  fine  emery 
cloth.  See  that  the  points  are  in  line,  and  about  a 
millimeter  (or  1/25  in.  to  1/26  in.)  apart;  some  recommend 
1/32  inch.  Examine  the  porcelain  to  see  that  it  is  not  broken, 
cracked,  or  loose.  Also  make  sure  that  the  central  wire  is 
properly  secured;  if  it  can  twist  round,  the  spark  points  may 
get  out  of  line  when  the  high-tension  wire  is  attached,  and 
then,  of  course,  they  will  be  too  far  apart  for  the  spark  to 
jump.  The  porcelain  may  be  tightened  by  carefully  screwing 
in  the  gland  nut. 

Now  reconnect  the  wire  to  the  plug,  and  lay  the  plug  on  the 
motor,  so  that  only  the  metal  body  thereof  is  in  contact  with 
it.  Turn  the  starting  handle  again,  and  see  whether  a  good 
spark  occurs  at  the  points  of  the  plug;  if  it  does  not,  try  an- 
other plug.  Do  not  forget  to  switch  the  current  on  while 
testing.  It  should  be  remembered  that  water  is  a  good  con- 
ductor, and  that  if  the  exposed  part  of  the  porcelain  is  wet, 
the  current  will  pass  through  it  instead  of  across  the  points. 
Drying  the  porcelain  will  suffice  in  this  case. 

It  may  be,  however,  that  no  spark  passes  from  the  end  of 
the  high-tension  wire,  or  that,  though  a  spark  is  obtained,  it 
will  not  continue  for  any  length  of  time;  and  the  test  should 
always  be  continued  for,  say  five  or  ten  seconds.  If  the 


94  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

sparking  gets  weaker  and  perhaps  expires  during  this  time,  it 
shows  that  the  battery  is  run  down,  and  such  current  as  it  gives 
is  only  due  to  temporary  recuperation.  This  should  be  re- 
membered when  testing  the  high-tension  wire  or  the  plug. 
The  condition  of  the  battery,  if  of  the  primary  or  dry  type, 
may  be  tested  by  an  amperemeter,  or  "ammeter",  which 
should  read  at  least  six  amperes.  If  it  is  a  wet  or  storage  bat- 
tery, a  voltmeter  should  be  employed,  and  should  show  over 
3.8  volts.  In  each  case  the  test  should  be  made  quickly.  Some 
voltmeters  are  so  constructed  that  their  indexes  come  to  rest 
promptly,  and  they  are  to  be  preferred  for  this  reason.  In- 
stead of  using  a  voltmeter,  one  may  employ  a  four-volt  test 
lamp.  If  this  glows,  and  continues  to  glow  brightly  for  some 
five  or  ten  seconds,  it  may  be  gathered  that  the  battery  con- 
tains a  sufficient  charge,  but  not  otherwise.  Use  the  devices 
by  applying  their  terminals  to  those  terminals  of  the  battery 
to  which  the  low-tension  wires  are  connected.  If  the  meter 
shows  nothing  at  all,  reverse  the  application  of  its  terminals. 
If  the  battery  is  down,  it  must  either  be  supplemented 
by  another  or  recharged,  if  capable  of  recharging.  Thus,  if 
a  two-cell  accumulator  shows  only  about  three  volts  (and  it 
should  never  be  allowed  to  get  so  low),  a  single  primary 
battery  of  about  1.5  volts  may  be  coupled  in  series  with  the 
storage  battery  and  a  good  current  of  4.5  volts  obtained.  Of 
course,  the  right  plan  is  to  carry  duplicate  batteries,  so  that 
when  one  gives  out  the  other  may  be  brought  into  use.  It  is 
just  as  well  to  switch  over  on  to -the  spare  battery  now  and 
again  to  make  sure  that  it  is  in  good  order,  but  most  of  the 
running  should  be  done  on  one  battery,  and  then  when  that 
is  exhausted  it  can  be  recharged  while  the  spare  is  in  use.  By 
having  a  third  battery,  one  can  be  on  charge  without  depriv- 
ing the  car  of  its  reserve. 

Reviving  Run-down  Batteries. 

Although  the  primary  cells  are  generally  reckoned  as  done 
for  when  they  have  once  given  out  their  supply,  they  can 
sometimes  be  temporarily  revived  to  some  extent  by  merely 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  95 

allowing-  them  to  stand;  and  more  positively,  by  making  a 
solution  consisting  of  one  part  of  sulphuric  acid  and  four  parts 
of  water,  and  introducing  the  same  through  the  venthole  of 
each  cell ;  about  a  dessertspoonful  may  be  squirted  in  by 
means  of  a  small  clean  oilcan.  If  the  cell  will  not  take  the 
whole  charge  at  once,  the  operation  must  be  performed  in 
stages.  If  the  venthole  is  too  small,  one  can  make  a  hole 
in  the  marine  glue  or  other  material  with  which  the  cell  is 
sealed,  and  introduce  the  solution  through  it;  the  hole  being 
afterwards  closed  by  warming  the  glue  and  squeezing  it  over 
the  hole,  or  by  running  in  sealing  wax.  Storage  batteries  may 
be  temporarily  revived  by  steeping  them  for  several  minutes 
in  hot  water. 

Sometimes  it  is  found  that  batteries,  instead  of  holding 
their  charges  for  the  proper  time,  will  run  down  very  quickly. 
This  may  be  due  to  the  primary  circuit  being  left  complete 
accidentally — the  driver  forgets  to  switch  off  after  a  run.  Or 
it  may  be  due  to  a  short  circuit  in  the  wiring;  or,  again,  to 
some  of  the  paste  dropping  out  of  the  grids  and  touching  both 
a  positive  and  a  negative  plate,  thus  forming  an  internal  short 
circuit.  Or  it  may  be  caused  by  a  leak  past  the  partition 
between  the  two  cells.  If  the  battery  has  a  transparent  cellu- 
loid case  one  can  see  whether  any  loose  paste  is  causing  a 
short  circuit.  To  test  for  a  leak  past  the  partition,  some  of 
the  acid  should  be  poured  out  of  one  cell;  then,  if  there  is 
a  leak,  the  acid  in  the  other  cell  will  pass  through,  and  the 
levels  of  acid  in  the  two  cells  will  be  restored.  A  leaking 
partition  should  receive  immediate  attention. 

Detecting  Short  Circuits. 

Where  a  short  circuit  is  suspected,  it  may  often  be  dis- 
covered by  testing  the  ignition  in  the  dark,  as  a  spark  will 
be  noticed  as  passing  from  the  defective  point.  The  "short" 
is  most  liable  to  occur  in  the  hign-tension  circuit,  that  is,  in 
connection  with  the  wire  leading  from  the  coil  to  the  sparking 
plug;  and  the  short  should  be  looked  for  while  the  wire  is 
in  the  position  it  generally  occupies  on  the  car,  as  the  mere 


96  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

act  of  moving  it  in  order  to  make  the  test  above  described  may 
prevent  the  occurrence  of  the  short  circuit  from  which  it  suf- 
fers. It  is  a  great  mistake  to  purchase  cheap  insulating  wire, 
as  a  few  dischargings  of  the  battery  will  more  than  make  up 
the  difference  between  the  costs  of  the  cheap  and  best  quality 
wire.  If,  on  examining  the  wire,  one  finds  parts  that  are 
chafed,  they  should  be  carefully  bound  with  insulating  tape, 
and  steps  should  be  taken  to  secure  the  wire  so  that  further 
rubbing  will  be  prevented.  A  better  plan  is  to  slip  a  length  of 
rubber  tubing  over  the  wire,  or  to  replace  the  wire  with  a 
new  length. 

The  wires  should  be  kept  as  free  from  oil  as  possible,  as  oil 
rots  the  insulation,  and  thus  invites  short  circuiting.  If  the 
insulation  appears  to  be  quite  sound,  the  trouble  may  arise 
from  breakage  of  the  wire  itself.  If  the  wire  be  passed 
through  the  fingers  with  a  bending  movement,  the  break  will 
probably  be  easily  felt;  but  if  not,  it  may  be  detected  in  the 
case  of  the  primary  wire  by  the  voltmeter.  The  battery,  sus- 
pected wire,  and  voltmeter,  should  be  formed  into  a  circuit  for 
the  purpose ;  some  tension  and  twisting  movement  should  be 
put  on  the  wire  during  the  test.  If  there  is  current  in  the 
battery,  but  none  can  be  detected  through  the  wire  by  the 
voltmeter,  there  is  evidently  a  break.  The  wire  should  be  re- 
placed by  another  if  possible,  but  if  no  spare  wire  is  available, 
the  defective  one  should  be  cut  through  at  the  fault,  the  insu- 
lation slit  lengthwise  and  peeled  back  for  about  one  inch  on 
each  part,  and  the  ends  thus  bared  should  be  twisted  together. 
The  insulation  may  then  be  turned  back  over  the  joint  and 
the  whole  bound  with  insulating  tape. 

Terminals  and  Connections. 

Though  the  electricity  is  willing  to  adopt  all  sorts  of  chan- 
nels in  order  to  shirk  its  work,  all  contacts  through  which  it 
is  intended  to  pass  should  be  thoroughly  clean,  and  should 
be  scraped  with  an  old  knife  for  this  purpose.  Avoid  using 
a  knife  on  which  you  set  any  value  for  scraping  the  terminals 
of  the  battery,  as  you  will  be  very  likely  to  make  contact  acci- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  97 

dentally  with  both  terminals  at  once,  to  the  great  detriment 
of  the  blade,  not  to  mention  the  battery.  In  order  to  avoid 
corrosion,  the  battery  terminals  may  be  anointed  with  a  mix- 
ture of  vaseline  and  ammonia. 

There  are  many  different  devices  (also  going  by  the  name 
of  terminals)  for  connecting  the  wires  to  the  different  screws, 
etc.  These  are  generally  more  satisfactory  than  making  loops 
on  the  ends  of  the  wires  themselves,  though  one  has  to  take 
care  that  the  attached  terminals  do  not  project  and  touch  each 
other  or  other  metal  parts,  and  so  cause  short  circuits.  It  is 
perhaps  easier  to  tell  what  to  avoid  than  what  to  do  in  making 
terminals  out  of  the  ends  of  the  wires  themselves.  Thus  the 
wire  should  not  be  twisted  up  into  an  eye  of  which  one  part 
is  thicker  than  another;  nor  should  the  eye,  when  made,  be, 
soldered  with  acid  flux,  as  this  brings  about  corrosion  and 
fracture.  If  the  eye  is  soldered  at  all,  resin  should  be  used, 
but  the  sudden  stiffening  of  the  wire  by  any  soldering  is  also 
liable  to  cause  breakage. 

Probably  the  simplest  way  to  make  an  eye  is  to  untwist  the 
wire  at  a  short  distance  from  the  end,  and  then  to  separate 
the  straightened  strands  equally  by  pushing  a  sharp  instru- 
ment in  between,  forming  a  hole  sufficiently  large  to  receive 
the  screw  terminal.  A  stronger  eye  may  be  made  by  baring 
a  good  inch  of  the  wire  and  bending  it  into  a  simple  loop,  and 
then  binding  together  with  fine  wire  the  two  parts  lying  in 
parallel  contact,  leaving  an  eye  of  suitable  size,  as  before.  In 
securing  the  one  terminal  to  the  other,  be  careful  that  no  part 
of  the  insulation  is  pinched,  as  this  would  tend  to  prevent  per- 
fect contact  between  the  metallic  surfaces;  at  the  same  time, 
the  insulation  should  be  continued  as  nearly  up  to  the  connec- 
tion as  possible ;  and  for  further  security,  the  whole  connection 
may  be  wrapped  with  insulating  tape.  If  a  detachable  plug 
form  part  of  the  primary  circuit,  and  be  lost,  the  two  lengths 
of  wire  should  be  coupled  together,  the  switch  being  relied 
on  for  breaking  the  circuit  when  required.  Or  a  screw  or 
nail,  or  a  piece  of  wire  doubled  up  into  the  form  of  a  rod,  will 
serve  as  a  substitute. 


98  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

Care  of  Trembler  Points. 

Another  cause  of  intermittent  firing  is  looseness  of  the 
platinum  point  on  the  trembler  blade  of  the  contact  breaker. 
The  presence  of  dirty  oil  on  the  back  of  the  blade  round  the 
platinum  is  ground  for  suspecting  that  the  point  is  loose. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  blade  should  be  detached  and 
laid  face  downward  on  a  hard  surface  while  the  back  of  the 
point  is  riveted  over  with  a  light  hammer.  The  faces  of  the 
platinum  points  should  make  contact  squarely  with  each  other; 
but  the  passage  of  the  current  and  the  tapping  of  the  one  point 
on  the  other  spoil  the  surfaces  in  course  of  time,  and  the 
usual  remedy  is  to  file  them  flat  with  a  thin,  watch-maker's 
file.  As  platinum,  however,  is  somewhat  more  expensive  than 
gold,  it  seems  a  pity  to  waste  it  by  filing,  and  the  better  plan 
is  to  hammer  it  smooth  with  a  few  light  and  carefully-applied 
blows.  In  some  cases,  too,  the  distortion  of  the  surfaces  can 
be  corrected  from  time  to  time  by  changing  over  the  wires  on 
the  battery  terminals  so  as  to  send  the  current  the  reverse  way 
through  the  points.  But  if  the  reversal  of  the  wires  is  ac- 
companied by  the  failure  of  the  ignition,  or  excessive  sparking 
at  the  contact  breaker,  they  must,  of  course,  be  replaced.  In 
any  case,  no  dirt  should  be  allowed  to  remain  between  the 
platinum  points,  though  a  drop  of  oil  there  is  sometimes 
found  to  be  an  advantage  rather  than  otherwise.  The  points 
may  be  cleaned  by  inserting  a  thin  card  or  a  slip  of  strong 
paper  between  them,  and  then  withdrawing  the  card  while  the 
points  are  pressed  together.  Be  careful  that  no  particles  of 
paper  are  left  behind,  as  they  will  be  as  bad  as,  or  worse 
than,  the  dirt. 

Adjusting  Contact  Breakers. 

In  adjusting  a  make-and-break  contact  breaker  one  has  to 
see  that  the  cam  projection  lifts  the  blade  into  contact  with 
the  screw,  and  fhat  when  the  projection  has  passed,  the  points 
are  out  of  contact.  Provided  .the  points  make  a  good  firm  con- 
tact, nothing  is  gained  by  the  excessive  bending  of  the  blade, 
but  rather  the  reverse,  as  current  is  wasted  by  the  orolonged 
contact. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  99 

Unscrew  the  sparking  plug  and  lay  it  on  part  of  the  metal 
work  so  that  one  can  see  the  spark,  and  so  that  the  terminal 
end  of  the  plug  lies  clear  of  the  metal  work.  Then  fix  the 
contact  screw  at  that  position  which  corresponds  with  the  best 
spark  at  the  plug.  Notwithstanding  the  action  of  the  conden- 
ser, a  small  spark  will  be  noticed  as  the  points  at  the  contact 
breaker  separate.  In  fact,  if  no  spark  shows  here  it  is  a  pretty 
sure  sign  that  either  the  battery  is  run  down  or  there  is  a 
fault  in  the  primary  circuit. 

Wipe  contact  breakers  are  generally  self-adjusting  by  means 
of  a  spring.  They  should,  of  course,  be  kept  clean,  but  they 
should  be  freely  oiled;  the  reason  for  this  being  that  if  they 
are  run  dry  the  wipe  tends  to  scrape  particles  off  the  metallic 
segment  and  embed  them  in  the  fiber  cam,  thus  constructing  a 
path  through  which  the  current  will  continue  to  pass  after  it 
should  be  broken,  and  disturbing  the  timing  of  the  sparking 
and  wasting  the  current.  Any  such  particles  should  be  re- 
moved ;  and  .the  metal  and  fiber  surfaces  should  be  kept  even 
with  one  another,  as  inequalities  frequently  cause  the  wiper 
to  jump,  with  irregular  firing  as  a  result. 

Coil  Troubles. 

When  every  other  part  of  the  ignition  system  has  been 
proved  to  be  in  order,  one  can  only  conclude  that  the  trouble 
is  in  the  coil.  This  may  be  due  to  failure  of  the  insulation.  If, 
on  the  system  being  connected  up  and  the  contact  breaker  be- 
ing worked,  a  ticking  noise  be  heard  in  the  coil,  this  is  a 
pretty  sure  sign  of  defective  insulation.  The  only  remedy 
is  to  get  the  coil  repaired  by  an  electrician,  preferably  the  coil- 
maker  himself.  The  trouble,  however,  may  arise  from  loose 
connections  at  the  coil,  or  from  loose  strands  of  wire  caus- 
ing a  "short"  from  one  coil  terminal  to  another.  These 
troubles  can,  of  course,  be  easily  remedied  if  they  occur  at  the 
exposed  ends  of  the  terminals ;  but  if  the  shorting  is  between 
the  inside  connections,  the  cover  must  be  carefully  removed  so 
as  not  to  break  the  wires,  and  as  carefully  replaced  in  its 
proper  position  ~her  correcting  the  fault. 


100  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

If  the  coil  trembler  suddenly  stops  work,  it  is  probably  be- 
cause it  has  stuck.  Should  this  happen,  the  trembler  may  be 
set  in  motion  again  temporarily  by  unsticking  it,  but  the 
platinum-pointed  screw  should  be  readjusted  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. The  platinum  points  should  be  inspected,  and,  if  neces- 
sary, cleaned  and  reshaped ;  they  should  stand  normally  about 
half  a  millimeter  apart,  but  it  is  best  to  effect  the  adjust- 
ment with  the  sparking  plug  where  the  points  can  be  seen, 
so  that  the  platinum-pointed  screw  can  be  locked  at  the  posi- 
tion which  shows  the  best  spark.  The  tightening  of  the  lock- 
nut  on  the  screw  will  generally  upset  the  adjustment  some- 
what, and  this  must  be  allowed  for  by  setting  the  points  a 
little  too  close  together  before  finally  tightening  up.  If  this 
adjustment  will  not  cure  the  trouble,  the  defect  may  lie  in  the 
loss  of  elasticity  in  the  spring  blades ;  if  so,  they  must  be  re- 
placed by  new  ones. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  101 

PART  VII. 
LOSS  OF  POWER. 

Loss  of  Power — In  ordinary  practice  the  loss  of  power  in  a 
gasolene  motor  develops  rapidly ;  that  is,  within  a  few  hours 
or  at  most  a  few  days.  It  would  require  several  years  for  a 
motor  of  modern  design  and  manufacture  to  wear  sufficiently 
to  cause  any  appreciable  falling  off  in  effective  work.  It  must 
be  reasoned,  then,  that  something  has  gone  wrong,  more  or 
less  suddenly,  something  that  can  ordinarily  be  detected  by 
careful  and  patient  search.  This  may  take  several  hours,  or 
even  a  day  or  two,  and  can  be  accomplished  only  by  beginning 
at  the  most  likely  and  most  frequent  cause  and  going  all  down 
the  line — by  the  process  of  elimination,  as  in  most  cases  of 
apparently  serious  difficulties  with  the  gasolene  motor. 

Weak  batteries,  loss  of  compression  and  poor  carbureter  ad- 
justment may  be  put  down  as  the  prime  causes  of  loss  of 
power.  It  is  not  difficult  to  determine  the  exact  state  of  the 
ignition  system;  it  is  not  difficult  to  adjust  a  carbureter;  and 
it  is  not  difficult  to  learn  that  the  motor's  compression  has 
fallen  off.  It  is,  sometimes,  difficult  to  ascertain  the  cause 
of  the  loss  of  compression. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  condition  of  one 
of  these  prime  elements  bears  important  relation  to  the  other. 
For  instance,  a  carbureter  cannot  be  correctly  adjusted  unless 
the  ignition  system  is  right  and  the  compression  is  somewhere 
near  normal.  Because  of  this  it  is  essential  that  the  ignition 
system  be  given  attention  first,  followed  by  ascertaining  that 
the  compression  is  good  and  equal  in  all  the  cylinders. 

Ignition. 

(a)  Weak  Batteries — Test  dry  cells  to  show  from  15  to  17 
amperes  on  an  ammeter,  disregarding  voltage.  If  the  batteries 
show  under  5  to  7  amperes,  replace  with  new  ones.  Possibly 


102  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

only  one  cell  will  show  depletion,  in  which  case  one  new  cell 
may  effect  a  remedy,  for  a  time  at  least.  If  there  are  two  sets 
of  batteries  in  the  car  they  can  be  connected  together  in  series 
— that  is,  all  the  cells  connected  as  if  there  was  but  one  set — 
and  this  will  carry  the  car  to  a  point  where  new  batteries  can 
be  secured. 

If  a  storage  cell  is  used,  test  by  connecting  one  end  of  a 
wire  to  one  of  the  binding  posts  and  snapping  the  other  end 
across  the  other  binding  post.  A  large,  snappy  spark  will  in- 
dicate sufficient  current ;  if  it  is  an  apparent  weak  spark,  which 
can  easily  be  determined,  the  battery  needs  recharging. 

It  is  well  to  know  that  dry  cells  can  be  obtained  at  almost 
any  telephone  office  in  the  country,  so  that  under  ordinary 
circumstances  the  motorist  can  run  his  car  to  one  of  these 
stations. 

(b)  Timer  Slipped — This  retards  the  ignition  and  usually 
causes  overheating  of  the  motor.     The  location  of  the  timer 
in  relation  to  the    shaft  to  which    it  is  attached  should    be 
marked,  so  as  to  be  replaced  easily.     Also,  the  owner  should 
know  just  where  the  spark  lever  should  be  on  the  quadrant 
when  the  piston  is  at  the  top  of  the  compression  stroke,  and 
when  contact  on  the  timer  is  made.     Sometimes  the  slipping 
may  be  found  to  have  occurred  at  the  connections  between  the 
hand  lever  and  the  timer.   Look  these  over  and  if  possible  take 
up  all  slack,  so  as  to  make  the  movement  of  the  timer  through 
the  spark  lever  positive. 

(c)  Plugs,  Fouled  or  Short  Circuited — Clean  the  plugs  by 
immersing  in  gasolene  and  cutting  the  carbon  deposits  off  with 
a  knife.     At  the  same  time  see  that  the  points  are  i/32-inch 
apart — no  more,  no  less.    Accumulated  oil  will  cause  a  short 
circuit,  as  will  carbon  deposits  or  a  cracked  or  chipped  porce- 
lain. 

(d)  Timer  Gummed — Unless  a  timer  is  cleaned  occasionally 
the  old  grease  or  oil  will  become  gummed  and  saturated  with 
metal  filings  caused  by  wear.    This  will  cause  a  loss  of  some 
of  the  current  and  result  in  lag  in  the  ignition ;  consequently  a 
feeble  impulse  in  one  or  more  cylinders.     Likewise  a  magneto 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  103 

must  be  kept  clean  in  order  to  transmit  current.  A  timer  should 
be  cleaned  with  gasolene  and  after  dried  of  all  the  gasolene 
should  be  packed  in  hard  grease,  which  not  only  remains  as  a 
lubricant  but  will  tend  to  prevent  dust  from  reaching  the  con- 
tact points. 

(e)  Poor  Contact  on  Timer  or  Magneto — Where  a  tinier  is 
used,   not  infrequently  the   primary  wire   is   not  fitted  with 
terminals  to  attach  to  the  binding  posts  on  the  timer  and  the 
soil,  the  wires  of  several  strands  being  attached  direct.    The 
movement  of  the  timer  in  retarding  and  advancing  the  spark 
gradually  breaks  these  little  strands,  until  perhaps,  only  one 
or  two  remain — and  one  or  two  are  not  sufficient  to  carry  cur- 
rent.    In  other  cases  the  primary  wires  at  the  timer  become 
oil-soaked  and  much  current  is  lost.    Poor  contact  at  the  timer, 
magneto,  coil,  battery,  switch  or  plug  will  prevent  a  full  flow 
of  current  and  interrupt  proper  ignition  of  the  gases  in  the 
cylinders. 

(f)  Oil-soaked  Secondary  Wires — Keep  the  wires  leading  to 
the  plugs,  in  particular,  and  in  fact  any  wires,  free  from  oil  and 
dirt,  otherwise  more  or  less  of  the  circuit  will  be  lost. 

Loss  of  Compression. 

(a)  Valves  Fouled ;  Not  Seating— If  the  motor  shows  loss 
of  compression,  look  first  to  the  condition  of  the  valves ;  prob- 
ably they  do  not  seat  properly  and  closely  and  must  be  ground. 
This  should  be  done  promptly.      Too  much  lubrication — pos- 
sibly in  combination  with  a  poor  mixture — causes  this  state  of 
affairs.    In  cities,  where  speed  is  restricted  and  where  the  mo- 
torist is  tempted  to  jog  along  with  a  low  charge  of  gas  and  a 
high  spark,  the  heat  from  the  explosion  is  not  sufficient  to  burn 
the  excess  of  oil  and  the  valves  soon  become  coated,  prevent- 
ing them  from  seating  and  permitting  the  loss  of  compression. 

(b)  Nuts  for  Valve  Cages  not  Tight — In  valve-in-the-head 
motors,  where  cages  are  employed  to  form  the  valve  seat  and 
carry  the  valve  and  stem,  the  ring  nut  used  to  hold  the  cage 
down  on  its  seat  may  not  be  set  down  tight,  thus  permitting 
compression  to  become  weak.    When  the  motor  is  hot,  after 


104  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

two  or  three  hours'  use,  set  the  nuts  down.  Treat  valve  nuts 
in  T-head  motors  the  same  way.  Where  the  threads  have 
spread  or  become  worn  through  constant  removal,  make  a  thin 
paste  of  litharge  and  glycerin  and  rub  on  the  threads.  Set  the 
ring  or  nut  down  tight  and  let  stand  over  night  for  the  litharge 
to  harden.  It  might  be  stated  here  that  cracks,  small  holes, 
etc.,  may  be  thoroughly  closed  by  the  use  of  litharge  in  this 
form. 

(c)  Valve  Spring  Weak — Where  a  valve  spring  has  become 
weakened,  a  temporary  repair  may  be  made  by  building  up 
with  iron  washers  that  will  fit  over  the  valve  stem  and  cover 
the  spring,  care  being  taken  that  the  washers  do  not  bind  the 
valve  stem  or  prevent  its  free  working. 

(d)  Valve  Spring  Broken — If  a  valve  spring  breaks,  place 
an  iron  washer  between  the  pieces  of  spring — over  the  valve 
stem,  of  course — and  a  splendid  emergency  job  will  have  been 
accomplished,  one  that  will  last  indefinitely. 

(e)  Air  Leak  at  Plug — This  can  be  detected,  usually,  by 
placing  the  hand  near  the  plug,  when  escaping  air  or  gas  can 
be  felt.     Or,  pour  a  little  oil  around  the  plug  while  the  motor 
is  running  and  the  leak  will  be  immediately  noticed  by  the  oil 
bubbling.     A  leaky  valve  may  be  detected  in  the  same  man- 
ner.    If  the  plug  has  a  shoulder,  a  copper  gasket  can  be  in- 
serted between  the  shoulder  and  the  cylinder.     If  there  is  no 
shoulder,  litharge  and  glycerine  in  a  paste  can  be  used  on  the 
threads  to  stop  the  leak. 

(f)  Rings  Stuck — Over-lubrication  will  cause  the  oil  to  settle 
under  the  rings  on  the  piston  and  eventually  stick  them  to  the 
piston,  permitting  the  gas  to  escape  past  the  rings.     Inject  a 
couple  of  teaspoonfuls  of  kerosene  in  each  cylinder  and  permit 
it  to  stand  over  night.    This  will  loosen  the  rings  effectually. 
Better  still,  do  not  over-lubricate  and  the  rings  will  not  stick ; 
too  much  lubrication  will  cause  as  much  trouble — but  not  as 
much  damage — as  an  insufficient  supply. 

(g)  Broken  Ring — If  a  ring  breaks,  its  springiness  is  gone 
and  the  gases  will  escape  past.  The  only  remedy  is  a  new  ring, 
A  metallic  knock  sometimes  will  denote  a  broken  ring. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  105 

(h)  Ring  Slots  in  Line — Where  rings  are  not  pinned  in 
place,  it  is  possible  for  the  slots  at  the  ends  to  "get  in  line," 
and  under  such  circumstances  gases  will  escape.  If  the  rings 
are  free  they  will  right  themselves.  This  is  an  unlikely  trouble, 
however. 

(i)  Lack  of  Pushrod  Clearance — Be  sure  there  is  clearance 
between  the  pushrods  and  valve  stems,  otherwise  the  valves 
will  be  held  open  slightly  but  sufficiently  to  cause  loss  of  com- 
pression. This  is  apt  to  occur  after  valve  grinding  and  the 
valve  has  been  lowered  a  trifle  through  grinding.  Give  some 
clearance,  as  a  temporary  relief,  but  ascertain  from  the  maker 
of  the  car  the  right  amount  to  give  proper  valve  lift. 

(j)  Lack  of  Lubrication — Oil  fills  the  space  between  the 
cylinder  walls  and  rings  and  piston.  Lack  of  oil  will  permit 
some  gas  to  escape. 

(k)  Leak  at  Gasket — Where  cylinder  heads  are  detachable, 
and  where  gaskets  are  used,  a  leak  is  very  possible.  A  new 
gasket  should  be  put  in,  using  shellac  on  either  side  to  cement 
it  to  the  iron. 

(1)  Rocker  Shaft  Worn  or  Loose — In  motors  fitted  with 
make-and-break  ignition  the  rocker  shaft  may  have  become 
worn,  or  the  rocker  shaft  barrel  loosened,  permitting  loss  of 
compression.  Usually  the  remedy  for  the  first  named  is  either 
a  new  shaft  or  new  mica  insulation,  while  a  copper  gasket  can 
be  used  over  the  barrel. 

(m)  Valve  Stem  Bent — A  bent  valve  stem  will  prevent  the 
valves  from  properly  opening  and  closing  by  sticking  and  thus 
cause  loss  of  compression.  It  can  be  heated  and  straightened 
for  a  temporary  repair,  but  a  new  one  is  the  surest  remedy. 
If  bent  only  slightly  a  little  filing  and  finishing  with  fine 
emery  cloth  will  prove  effective  for  a  temporary  job.  Where 
a  valve  stem  has  been  straightened  it  is  best  to  put  it  in  a  lathe 
to  be  trued  up  and  then  ground  to  fit  the  valve  seat. 

(n)  Cylinders  or  Rings  Out  of  True — In  horizontal  motors 
in  particular,  where  one  side  of  the  piston  rests  on  one  side  of 
the  cylinder,  these  parts  are  liable  to  "wear  oval."  This  is  not 
apt  to  occur  in  a  vertical  motor.  To  effectually  remedy  this 


106  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

the  cylinders  must  be  reground  and  new  pistons  and  rings 
fitted. 

Mixture. 

(a)  Lack  of   Gasolene — Insufficient  supply  of  gasolene  at 
the  spray  nozzle — through   clogging  by  sediment  or  dirt,  or 
lack  of  pressure  in  pressure-feed  systems— will  cause  a  loss  of 
power,  particularly  in  hill-climbing  or  through  heavy  roads. 
Water   in  the  gasolene  will   sometimes   slightly  restrict   the 
flow,  which  should  at  all  times  be  free.  The  remedy  is  a  thor- 
ough cleaning  of  the  fuel  line. 

(b)  Surplus  of  Gasolene — Too  much  gasolene,  through  too 
great  an  opening  of  the  needle  valve  of  the  carbureter  will 
tend  to  choke  the  motor,  particularly  upon  opening  the  throt- 
tle suddenly,  and  cause  a  sluggish-running     motor.     It  will 
also  heat  the  motor.     If  it  is  a  case  of  too  little  or  too  much 
gasolene,  readjust  the  carbureter,  as  per  direction  elsewhere. 

(c)  Float  Level  Too  High — If  the  level  of  the  gasolene  in 
the  carbureter  is  such  as  to  be  more  than  just  below  the  top 
of  the  spray  nozzle — about   1/32  to   i/i6-inch   in  most  car- 
bureters— the  mixture  will  be  too  heavy  and  cause  sluggish 
running  of  the   motor — if  too  low,   the   feed  will   be   insuffi- 
cient and  will  cause  a  loss  of  power  at  normal  speeds  and  miss- 
ing at  high  motor  speeds.     Where  the  float  level  is  too  low 
the  valve  shuts  off  too  soon.     With  the  gasolene  level  wrong 
it  is  impossible  to  properly  adjust  the  carbureter,  inasmuch 
as  the  tendency  is  to  increase  the  fuel  supply  through  opening 
the  needle  valve,  which,  while  it  may  result  in  a  correct  mix- 
ture at  some  particular  motor  speed  may  be  too  rich  at  an- 
other.    To  correctly   adjust  a  carbureter  it  is  necessary  to 
have  the  gasolene  level  right  and  to  also  have  the  ignition 
in  good  working  order. 

(d)  Auxiliary  Air  Valve   Spring  Broken — Should   the   air 
valve  spring  in  the  carbureter  be  broken — which  is  not  likely, 
however — the  motor  will  be  permitted  to  take  in  a  surplus 
of  air.     This  will  in  all  probability  be  known  by  the  motor 
missing  if  it  keeps  on  running,  which  is  doubtful.    A  case  was 
known,  however,  where  the  air  valve  spring  was  entirely  gone 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  107 

and  still  the  motor  would  run,  although  it  was  hard  to  start 
and  did  not  develop  power.  Should  the  air  valve  slip  out  of 
place  or  be  broken  the  effect  on  the  motor  would  be  similar 
to  that  in  the  case  of  a  broken  spring. 

Other  Causes. 

(a)  Lack  of  Water  Circulation — Insufficient  supply  of  water 
in  the  cooling  system,  or  poor  water  circulation,  causing  over- 
heating or  a  tendency  to  overheat,  will  permit  the  cylinders 
and  pistons  to  expand  and  to  bind  sufficiently  to  precipitate  a 
loss  of  power.    This  will  in  all  likelihood  be  preceded  by  a 
decided  knocking,  especially  if  the  lubrication  is  not  excessive. 

(b)  Intake  Restricted — Where  a  car  has  been  driven  through 
dusty  or  muddy  roads,  the  gradual  accumulation  of  dirt  in  the 
intake  pipe  because  of  the  absence  of  a  pan  under  the  motor, 
for  instance,  will  settle  in  the  pipe  and  cause  a  restriction  that 
will  act  as  a  throttle.    This  can  be  remedied  only  by  remov- 
ing the  pipe  and  cleaning  by  running  a  gasolene-soaked  cloth 
through  it. 

(c)  Throttle  Connections  Slipped — See  that  the  connections 
between  the  throttle  lever  and  the  valve  in  the  carbureter  have 
not   slipped  and  permitted  the  throttle  to  become  partially 
closed.    This  is  a  not  infrequent  cause  of  the  apparent  lack  of 
power. 

(d)  Muffler  or  Exhaust  Pipe  Clogged — A  restricted  muffler 
or  exhaust  pipe  will  pull  down  the  power  to  a  remarkable  de- 
gree.    If  a  cut-out  is  fitted  to  the  exhaust  system  it  will  be 
easy  to  discover,  with  this  open,  if  the  motor  seems  to  develop 
its  full  power.    If  it  shows  a  falling  off  of  power  when  closed 
the  exhaust  pipe  and  muffler  should  be  cleaned.    They  should 
be  taken  down,  soaked  in  kerosene  and  washed  out  with  gaso- 
lene.    Be  sure,  however,  to  see  that  the  gasolene  has  been 
permitted  to  evaporate  before  attaching  to  the  car  and  starting 
the  motor,  else  a  bad  explosion  may  result.    They  should  be 
permitted  to  stand  all  night  and  in  a  position  so  as  to  drain 
well. 

(e)  Too  Heavy  Load — If  the  car  is  loaded  beyond  its  nor- 
mal capacity  it  is  not  unlikely  there  .will  be  a  falling  off  in 


108  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

apparent  power.    Load  the  car  to  its  normal  capacity  and  see 
if  there  is  any  appreciable  difference  in  the  work  of  the  motor. 

(f)  Bind  on  Running  Gear  or  Transmission — Gummed  axle 
bearings,  dry  differential  or  transmission,  bent  axle  or  steering 
knuckles,  motor  or  transmission  out  of  line,  brakes  binding  or 
partially  set,  will  cause  loss  of  power.     In  searching  for  the 
cause  it  will  be  well  to  push  the  car  along  the  floor  to  see  if 
it  runs  freely,  and  that  there  is  nothing  materially  wrong  with 
the  running  gear.     If  it  pushes  hard  it  will  be  necessary  to 
trace  the  trouble  and  remedy  it. 

(g)  Soft  Tires — Soft  tires  will  make  a  car  push  extremely 
hard,  either  by  hand  or  by  motor  power.     Before  trying  the 
car  to  see  how  the  running  gear  works,  be  sure  the  tires  are 
pumped  hard. 

(h)  Stiff  Valve  Springs — Where  suction  valves  are  used 
and  a  change  in  the  springs  has  been  made,  possibly  one 
that  is  too  strong  has  been  used.  This  will  prevent  a  full 
charge  of  gas  from  entering  the  cylinders  and  thus  the  force 
of  the  explosion  will  be  materially  weakened.  This  cannot 
occur,  however,  unless  some  change  has  been  made  in  the 
springs. 

(i)  Quality  of  Fuel — Fuel  has  much  to  do  with  the  power 
that  can  be  obtained  from  a  gasolene  motor,  but  if  a  carbureter 
is  adjusted  for  certain  grades  the  difference  will  hardly  be 
perceptible.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  a  grade  of  gaso- 
lene of  high  test  will  give  more  power;  as  a  matter  of  fact 
there  are  more  heat  units  in  a  given  quantity,  in  bulk,  of  the 
lower  grades,  but  unless  the  carbureter  is  properly  adjusted 
these  heat  units  in  the  lower  grades  cannot  be  turned  into 
working  agents  as  readily  as  can  those  in  the  higher  grades. 
With  the  lower  grades  of  gasolene  more  heat  is  required  to 
volatilize  the  gasolene  than  with  the  higher  grades. 

(j)  Cold  Motor — When  a  motor  is  extremely  cold,  particu- 
larly if  the  gasolene  supply  at  the  needle  valve  is  cut  down  to 
a  pretty  fine  point,  the  gasolene  cannot  be  volatilized  or  made 
into  gas  and  the  actual  result  is  a  very  light  charge.  In  this 
case  it  is  well,  when  the  motor  shows  loss  of  power  and  misses, 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  109 

to  run  the  motor  with  a  later  spark  and  a  larger  charge  of  gas 
until  the  motor  has  had  an  opportunity  to  become  warm  and 
to  help  volatilize  the  gasolene. 


1 10  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

PART  VIII. 
CARE  AND  MAINTENANCE. 

Care  and  Maintenance— Private  Housing — The  private  car 
house  or  garage  should,  if  possible,  be  constructed  of  brick, 
stone  or  cement,  though  where  cost  is  a  prime  consideration, 
very  serviceable  wooden  and  corrugated  iron  houses  can  be 
built.  The  house  should  be  large  enough  to  provide  a  space 
of  at  least  four  feet  all  round  the  car. 

There  should  be  large  doors  at  each  end  of  the  house  if  space 
permits,  so  that  the  car  may  be  run  in  one  way  and  out  the 
other.  This  will  save  a  lot  of  time  and  trouble  in  reversing. 

The  floor  should  be  of  concrete,  and  care  should  be  taken 
to  avoid  nooks  and  crannies,  into  which  small  parts  can  run 
and  hide,  if  accidentally  dropped.  In  the  middle  of  the  floor  a 
pit  should  be  dug.  This  should  measure  about  3  ft.  6  in.  wide, 
4  ft.  deep,  and  6  ft.  or  more  long,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
car.  Steps  should  lead  down  into  it  at  each  end,  and  a  strong 
cover  must  be  provided.  The  edge  of  the  pit  should  have  a 
projecting  ridge  to  prevent  the  wheels  of  the  car  being  acci- 
dentally moved  over  the  pit,  and  also  to  prevent  other  things 
running  into  it.  The  pit,  as  well  as  the  floor  of  the  house, 
should  be  drained. 

Light  and  Warmth. 

Light  is  best  admitted  through  windows  in  the  roof,  and 
these  should  be  made  to  open  and  close,  or  other  ample  means 
of  ventilation  should  be  provided.  If  a  current  of  electricity 
can  be  laid  on  to  the  garage,  it  will  be  found  a  great  advan- 
tage in  several  ways.  In  the  first  place  it  affords  a  very  con- 
venient and  safe  means  of  lighting  at  night.  Besides  hand- 
lights  that  can  be  carried  about,  a  number  of  fixed  sockets  for 
the  electric  lamps  should  be  provided  on  the  walls,  and  also  in 
the  pit.  The  electric  current  will  also  be  useful  in  charging 
the  batteries,  especially  if  the  car  is  an  electric  one. 


A  UTOMOB1LE  DRIVING  1 1 1 

A  good  supply  of  water  should  be  laid  on  for  cleaning  pur- 
poses, and  the  soft  rainwater  falling  on  the  roof  should  be  col- 
lected in  a  covered  tank,  as  soft  water  should  always  be  used 
in  the  radiator.  The  water  should  be  drawn  off  as  clear  as 
possible,  and  passed  through  a  fine  strainer  into  the  radiator. 

The  warming  of  the  house  requires  careful  attention.  It  is 
not  advisable  to  use  a  coal  fire  or  oilstove  inside  the  house  on 
account  of  the  flame.  A  very  high  temperature  is  not  desir- 
able ;  provided  it  is  well  above  freezing,  that  is  enough,  though 
it  is  always  safest  to  run  off  the  circulating  water,  in  case  the 
heating  apparatus  break  down.  So  far  as  the  tires  are  con- 
cerned, the  atmosphere  of  the  house  should  be  neither  too 
hot  nor  too  dry ;  nor,  for  that  matter,  too  light. 

A  workbench  should  be  erected  near  one  corner  of  the  house, 
and  if  it  can  be  supplemented  by  a  small  lathe  so  much  the 
better.  If  the  car  is  provided  with  a  detachable  top  for  the 
body,  a  pulley  should  be  hung  from  the  middle  of  the  roof,  so 
that  the  top  may  be  manipulated  easily,  and  suspended  clear 
when  out  of  use. 

Cleaning. 

On  returning  from  a  dirty  run  the  mud  may  be  washed  off 
the  car  by  carefully  turning  the  hose  on  it.  The  painted  work 
may  be  afterward  dried  with  a  soft  clean  sponge,  and  be  pol- 
ished with  a  leather  in  the  usual  way.  In  using  the  hose,  care 
should  be  taken  to  keep  the  water  and  grit  out  of  the  bear- 
ings and  other  working  parts  as  much  as  possible.  The  tires 
should  be  wiped  clean  and  dried.  See  that  they  are  well 
inflated,  and  that  no  water  gets  in  to  rust  the  rims  and  rot 
the  canvas.  The  exterior  of  the  engine,  gear,  etc.,  may  best 
be  cleaned  by  a  good-sized  paint  brush  dipped  in  kerosene.  If 
the  leathers  of  the  clutch,  brakes  or  pump  get  too  greasy,  they 
may  be  cleansed  by  washing  with  waste  gasolene.  The  clutch 
leather  should  not  be  allowed  to  get  dry;  on  the  contrary,  it 
should  be  kept  moist  with  special  oil,  evenly  applied,  and  pref- 
erably allowed  to  soak  in  over  night. 

It  is  worth  while  giving  the  chains  of  chain-driven  cars  a 
good  deal  more  attention  than  they  generally  receive.  They 


112  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

should  be  taken  off  occasionally  and  thoroughly  cleansed  in  a 
bath  of  kerosene.  Then  they  should  be  hung  up  to  drain,  and 
subsequently  be  dipped  in  a  bath  of  melted  tallow,  which  may 
contain  a  fair  proportion  of  graphite.  The  tallow  should  be 
no  hotter  than  is  required  to  keep  it  liquid.  After  the  chains 
have  been  stirred  about  in  the  tallow,  so  as  to  work  it  into  the 
joints,  they  should  be  wiped,  to  remove  the  surplus  grease, 
and  allowed  to  cool.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  keep  two  sets  of 
chains,  so  that  while  one  set  is  in  use,  plenty  of  time  will  be 
available  for  treating  the  other. 

The  muffler  should  be  cleaned  out  occasionally  to  prevent 
the  deposits  therein  accumulating  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
choke  the  passages,  and  so  put  back  pressure  on  the  motor. 

Care  of  the  Hands. 

While  on  the  subject  of  cleaning  it  may  be  as  well  to  give 
here  one  or  two  hints  as  to  cleaning  the  hands.  Before  start- 
ing to  do  anything  to  a  motor  car,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  fill  the 
nails  and  the  crevices  around  the  same  with  soap,  and  the 
fingers  also  may  be  rubbed  over  with  the  same  material.  This 
prevents  the  dirt  securing  positions  from  which  it  is  most  dif- 
ficult to  dislodge  it.  A  great  deal  of  the  dirt  that  does  adhere 
may  be  removed  by  rinsing  the  hands  in  kerosene  or  stale  gas- 
olene. To  rub  the  hands  in  vaseline  and  put  a  few  drops  of 
ammonia  into  the  hot  washing  water  is  a  useful  plan.  Many 
have  also  found  soft  soap,  pumicestone  soap,  and  some  of  the 
advertised  preparations  useful  for  cleaning  the  hands.  Gaso- 
lene, even  if  stale,  comes  in  handy  for  removing  grease  spots 
from  the  clothes.  A  piece  of  flannel  should  be  moistened  with 
the  gasolene,  and  a  ring  described  with  it  round  the  spot,  to 
prevent  the  latter  spreading.  Then  a  second  application  of 
the  liquid  should  be  made,  first  holding  the  moistened  flannel 
on  the  spot  for  a  few  moments  and  then  rubbing  it  vigorously. 
The  odor  very  quickly  passes  off. 

Lubricating. 

All  the  rotating  and  rubbing  surfaces  on  the  motor  require 
lubrication,  except  leather  brake  bands,  leather  pump  tire,  and 


Cadillac  "Thirty"  Cylinder  and  Piston. 


Cadillac  "Thirty"  Steering  Gear.  Cadillac  "Thirty"  Transmission. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  113 

the  stems  of  the  inlet  and  exhaust  valves.  Besides  the  motor 
itself,  the  steering  sockets,  connections,  worm  and  column 
bearings  require  attention ;  also  the  bearings  of  the  road 
wheels,  the  transmission  gearing  and  levers,  the  balance  gear, 
and  the  starting  apparatus.  The  pump  and  radiator  fan  bear- 
ings must  not  be  overlooked.  A  new  car  requires  more  lubri- 
cating during  the  first  200  or  300  miles,  while  it  is  settling 
down,  than  it  does  afterwards.  If  the  engine  appears  sluggish, 
it  is  sometimes  due  to  lack  of  lubrication ;  a  little  extra  oil  will 
often  help  in  hill-climbing.  The  dirty  oil  which  accumulates 
in  the  crank  case  should  be  run  off  occasionally,  and  every 
few  hundred  miles  the  oil  pipes  and  bearings  should  be 
cleansed  out  with  kerosene,  the  engine  run  for  half  a  minute 
or  so  in  this  way,  and  then  the  kerosene  run  off  and  full  doses 
of  proper  lubricating  oil  administered.  When  using  the  kero- 
sene, make  sure  that  it  runs  through.  If  a  pipe  gets  choked 
it  should  be  blown  clear,  or  a  wire  pushed  through  it. 

While  it  is  bad  economy  to  stint  the  lubricating  oil,  it  is  a 
very  common  fault  to  use  a  great  deal  too  much.  This  is  not 
only  wasteful,  but  tends  to  foul  the  valves,  sparking  plugs, 
and  platinum  contacts.  Further,  it  has  a  prejudicial  effect  in 
creating  a  cloud  of  evil  blue  smoke.  The  driver  should  keep  a 
look-out  to  see  that  he  is  not  thus  polluting  the  atmosphere 
and  bringing  motoring  into  evil  repute.  He  should  also  be 
careful  to  close  his  lubricators  when  stopping,  as  otherwise  the 
cloud  will  be  apparent  when  restarting,  even  though  the  lubri- 
cators may  be  correctly  adjusted  for  running. 

Adjusting. 

"Little  and  often"  is  an  excellent  motto  in  the  care  of  motor 
cars,  the  "little"  being  a  consequence  of  the  "often."  The 
great  thing  is  to  give  the  attention  regularly.  All  'working 
parts  should  be  adjusted  to  move  freely  but  without  shake. 
This  insures  the  highest  efficiency  and  absence  of  noise.  Spring 
washers  are  often  useful  in  attaining  these  results  where 
proper  means  are  not  provided  for  adjustment.  All  nuts  used 
for  positive  gripping  purposes  should  be  secured  by  castle 


1 14  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

locknuts,  with  split  pins  passing  through  a  hole  in  the  bolt 
and  through  the  slots  in  the  nut. 

Adjustable  Bearings. 

As  a  rule,  the  owner  will  do  well  not  to  attempt  the  adjust- 
ment of  plain  and  roller  bearings.  Ball  bearings  are  com- 
paratively easy  to  adjust,  if  provision  is  made  for  adjustment. 
At  one  end  will  be  found  a  locknut,  and  on  the  same  screw  a 
cone.  When  the  locknut  is  released  the  cone  may  be  screwed 
along  the  spindle  either  into  or  out  of  the  bearing.  It  should 
be  screwed  in  until  it  will  go  no  further  without  using  force, 
then  it  should  be  unscrewed  about  half  a  turn.  Now,  if  the 
locknut  be  retightened,  it  will  probably  be  found  that  the  bear- 
ing will  work  freely  and  without  shake.  It  is  better  to  have 
just  a  perceptible  shake  than  to  have  a  bearing  too  tight,  and 
the  final  tightening  of  the  locknut  will  usually  tighten  the 
bearing  itself  a  little,  owing  to  slackness  in  the  screw  threads. 

A  scrunching  noise  in  a  bearing  should  receive  immediate 
attention,  the  bearing  being  taken  apart  in  order  to  discover 
the  cause.  It  may  be  found  to  be  due  merely  to  the  presence 
of  some  grit,  though  that  is  bad  enough.  In  this  case  a 
thorough  cleansing  of  the  bearing  and  lubrication  will  cure 
the  trouble.  If  one  of  the  balls  is  found  to  be  broken,  all  the 
bits  must  be  removed  and  a  new  ball  inserted.  But  unless  a 
new  one  of  exactly  the  right  size  can  be  procured,  it  is  best  to 
run  the  bearing  with  the  ball  short  for  the  time  being;  as, 
should  the  new  ball  be  a  shade  too  large,  it  will  also  certainly 
cause  trouble.  When  the  bearing  is  apart  the  cones  and  cups 
should  be  carefully  examined  for  scores  and  cracks,  as  if  these 
are  found,  the  parts  affected  should  be  renewed  at  the  earliest 
opportunity.  In  some  cases,  where  the  damage  to  the  bearing 
parts  is  serious,  it  is  best  to  remove  the  balls  and  let  the  bear- 
ing run  on  the  plain  surfaces  as  far  as  the  nearest  point  avail- 
able for  repairs.  If  a  wheel  spindle  has  been  cut  into  so  as  to 
weaken  it  materially,  the  load  should  be  lightened  as  much  as 
possible,  or  the  run  discontinued  entirely,  pending  repairs. 

A  car  should  not  be  run  with  either  the  wheel  bearings  or 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  115 

the  steering  crossbar  joints  very  slack,  as  the  wheels  will  wob- 
ble under  these  conditions,  and  the  bearings  and  tires  will  get 
badly  worn. 

Brake  Treatment. 

The  adjustment  of  the  brakes  is  even  more  important  than 
that  of  the  bearings.  They  require  treating  according  to  their 
individual  construction.  Two  points,  however,  should  be 
borne  in  mind:  First,  that  the  pedal  or  hand  lever  should 
not  be  at  the  limit  of  its  stroke,  even  when  the  brake  is  hard 
on ;  and  second,  that  the  braking  surfaces  should  not  rub  any- 
where when  the  brake  is  off. 

Charging  Batteries. 

As  there  are  now  many  stations  where  one  can  get  batteries 
charged  at  a  small  expense,  it  seems  hardly  worth  while  trou- 
bling to  do  one's  own  charging  if  this  involves  putting  in  a 
plant  for  the  purpose.  But  where  a  suitable  source  of  electric- 
ity is  available,  it  is  a  great  thing  to  be  able  to  keep  the  voltage 
well  over  4;  and  where  no  charging  station  is  at  hand,  it  may 
be  almost  necessary  to  do  the  work  oneself.  And  here  the 
reader  may  be  reminded  that  if  he  finds  himself  in  a  strange 
place  where  no  one  undertakes  recharging,  and  where  no  wet 
cells  are  to  be  bought,  dry  batteries  can  often  be  purchased 
at  the  local  hardware  store ;  and  one  or  two  of  these  may  be 
coupled  in  series  with  the  expiring  accumulators  on  the  car,  or 
a  complete  set  may  be  secured  to  do  the  work  alone.  Failing 
this,  you  may  have  the  good  luck  to  get  recharged  from  the 
generating  plant  of  some  large  private  installation. 

The  current  for  recharging  may  be  obtained  from  a  suitable 
dynamo  (either  directly  or  through  an  electric  lighting  sys- 
tem) or  from  a  primary  battery. 

Recharging  from  a  Strange  Supply. 

If  the  recharging  is  to  be  done  from  a  dynamo  constructed 
for  the  purpose,  or  from  a  specially-designed  switchboard 
worked  on  the  local  electric  lighting  system,  the  job  will  be 
simple  enough.  But  if  you  want  to  charge  up  from  a  strange 


116 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


supply,  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  inquire  whether  it  is  a  con- 
tinuous or  an  alternating  current,  and  what  is  the  voltage. 
We  will  suppose  the  current  to  be  continuous,  and  of  no  volts. 
The  charging  rate  should  be  marked  on  the  battery  case. 
Usually  it  will  not  be  over  two  amperes,  but  this  may  gener- 
ally be  exceeded  by  fifty  per  cent,  if  time  is  short.  A  safe 
charging  rate  may  generally  be  found  by  dividing  the  ampere 
hourage  of  the  battery  by  10.  A  16  c.  p.  (candle  power)  lamp 
will  pass  about  half  an  ampere,  and  a  32  c.  p.  lamp  will  pass 
about  one  ampere,  so  a  switch  controlling  four  of  the  former 
or  two  of  the  latter  lamps  should  be  found.  Two  of  the  for- 
mer or  one  of  the  latter  will  be  better  if  the  time  can  be  af- 


RtTURN  •>  MAIN  FROM 


ACCUMULATOR  . 


Fig.  1. — Charging  from  Ordinary  Switch,  Open. 

forded,  as  slow  charging  at  a  low  amperage  is  best  for  the  bat- 
tery, and  conduces  to  long  running.  A  six  16  c.  p.  or  three  32 
c.  p.  lamp  switch  may  be  used  if  one  is  in  a  hurry.  The  lamps 
are  generally  marked  with  their  candle-power  and  can  be  dis- 
connected from  their  sockets  by  simple  twisting  and  with- 
drawing action. 

The  switch  must  be  put  into  the  off  position  (which  will 
put  the  lamps  out,  so  have  another  light  handy),  and  must  be 
kept  in  this  position  during  the  whole  process.  See  Fig.  I. 
If  the  switch  were  closed  it  would  short  circuit  the  battery; 
and,  besides  wasting  a  lot  of  current,  would  damage  the  plateSc 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


117 


Pole  Finding. 

As  charging  is  opposite  to  working,  the  positive  pole  of  the 
charging  apparatus  must  be  coupled  up  to  the  positive  pole  of 
the  accumulator,  during  charging.  To  find  which  pole  is 
which  in  the  switch,  unscrew  the  cover,  and  connect  separate 
wires  to  the  terminals.  Now  take  a  slip  of  pole-finding  paper, 
wet  it  thoroughly,  and  lay  the  free  ends  of  the  two  wires  on  it, 
about  half  an  inch  apart.  The  paper  will  usually  turn  red  around 
the  end  of  the  negative  wire,  but  read  the  directions  on  the 
packet  of  papers  as  they  do  not  all  work  alike. 

If  you  have  no  pole-finding  paper,  drop  a  little  vinegar  into 
a  glass  of  water,  and  hold  the  ends  of  the  wires  about 


n. 


-    MAIN  LEAD 


W1CANDLSCENT  LAMP. 


TUMBLER  SWITCH,SMU» 


ACCUMULATOR 

Fig.  2. — Charging  from  Ordinary  Switch,  Shut 

apart  in  the  water  thus  acidulated.  Bubbles  will  be  seen  ris- 
ing from  the  end  of  the  negative  wire.  Bubbles  may  come 
from  both  wires,  but  if  so,  they  will  come  faster  from  one 
(the  negative)  than  from  the  other. 

The  two  wires  can  now  be  coupled  up  to  the  terminals  of 
similar  polarity  respectively  on  the  battery ;  and  as  soon  as  the 
circuit  is  completed  by  so  doing,  the  lamps  will  light  up  again. 

Or  one  of  the  wires  leading  to  the, switch  may  be  severed, 
and  the  ends  thus  made  be  connected  to  the  terminals,  pos- 
itive to  positive  and  negative  to  negative,  as  before.  (Fig.  2.) 
This  allows  the  switch  to  be  used  in  the  ordinary  way;  but, 
of  course,  the  battery  will  not  be  charging  when  the  switch 
is  "off." 


1 18  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

Instead  of  coupling  up  to  a  switch,  one  may  employ  an 
adapter.  This  is  a  fitting  for  attaching  to  a  lamp  socket  in 
place  of  the  lamp.  The  displaced  lamp  should  be  fitted  into 
a  socket  comprised  in  the  adapter,  and  the  polarity  of  the  wires 
having  been  ascertained,  the  positive  wire  is  coupled  to  the 
positive  terminal  of  the  accumulator,  and  the  negative  to  the 
negative,  as  before. 

With  a  current  of  more  than  no  volts,  the  number  of  16 
c.  p.  lamps  should  be  increased,  about  in  the  proportion  of  one 
lamp  to  thirty  volts.  If  the  lighting  system  is  worked  on  an 
alternating  current,  it  will  be  necessary  to  employ  a  recti- 
fier to  transform  the  current  into  a  continuous  one.  Some  of  the 
charging  dynamos  are  made  to  be  driven  by  water  pressure 
from  the  house  supply. 

Charging  from  a  Primary  Battery. 
But  where  neither  electric  lighting  nor  water  is  laid  on  to 


PRIMARY  CELLS  ACCUMULATOR. 

Fig.  3. — Charging  from  a  Primary  Battery. 

the  house,  one  can  use  a  large  primary  battery.  When  em- 
ploying this  system  an  ammeter  should  be  introduced  into  the 
circuit;  and  the  zincs  should  be  let  down  into  the  liquid  just 
so  far  that  the  required  number  of  amperes  is  shown  on  the 
meter.  The  zincs  should  be  lowered  from  time  to  time  to  keep 
up  the  number  of  amperes.  Instead  of  moving  the  zincs,  a 
small  resistance  may  be  introduced  into  the  circuit  and 
adjusted  as  required.  Some  of  these  primary  batteries  should 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  119 

be  very  carefully  handled,  as  the  liquids  employed  therein  are 
highly  corrosive.  They  require  replenishing  from  time  to  time, 
and  the  zincs  should  be  entirely  withdrawn  while  the  battery 
is  not  in  use. 

Whatever  system  of  charging  is  adopted,  the  vent  plugs 
should  be  removed  from  the  accumulators,  to  allow  free  escape 
of  the  generated  gases,  during  the  process.  The  time  occupied 
in  charging  naturally  varies,  but  six  hours  to  eight  hours  may 
be  taken  as  an  average.  The  battery  should  be  disconnected 
soon  after  the  electrolyte  begins  to  bubble,  and  the  voltmeter 
should  then  show  a  reading  of  at  least  4.4.  Sometimes  it  may 
show  as  much  as  5.0,  but  the  pressure  will  soon  drop  to  an 
orthodox  level  when  the  accumulator  is  put  to  work.  Wipe 
the  case  quite  dry,  vaseline  the  terminals,  and  replace  the  vent 
plugs  before  returning  the  battery  to  its  position  in  the  car. 

Water  Circulation. 

A  few  hints  may  be  given  here  on  the  subject  of  circulation. 
If  the  pump  is  driven  by  frictional  contact  with  the  flywheel, 
the  spring  should  be  adjusted  so  that  it  will  just  prevent  slip- 
ping in  the  drive ;  greater  tension  will  only  have  the  effect  of 
wearing  out  the  bearings  without  any  improved  result.  If  it 
is  suspected  that  the  water  is  not  circulating  properly,  one  of 
the  upper  connections  may  be  opened,  when,  if  the  water 
spurts  out,  it  may  be  concluded  that  the  circulation  is  in  action. 
Some  cars  are  now  fitted  with  a  manometer,  which  indicates 
the  circulation  of  the  water  visibly.  When  one  has  become 
accustomed  to  a  particular  car,  the  condition  of  the  circulation 
can  be  inferred  from  the  temperatures  of  the  inlet  and  outlet 
water  pipes,  as  tested  by  the  hand.  If  the  water  is  not  circu- 
lating satisfactorily  the  trouble  will  almost  certainly  arise 
from  the  pump.  This  should  be  taken  to  pieces  and  thor- 
oughly cleaned,  and  any  defect  that  may  be  found  should  be 
remedied  as  far  as  possible. 

If  the  water  is  boiline,  and  one  wishes  to  replace  it  with 
cold,  the  operation  should  be  performed  gradually.  Do  not 
simply  run  off  the  boiling  water  and  then  fill  up  with  cold, 


120  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

but  make  the  change  in  easy  stages.  The  advice  given  else- 
where to  empty  the  circulating  tank  after  each  run  in  cold 
weather  will  bear  repeating,  but  the  risk  of  freezing  may  be 
reduced  by  mixing  glycerine  with  the  water  in  the  proportion 
of  one  of  the  former  to  two  or  three  of  the  latter  (or  some 
other  anti-freezing  mixture).  Sometimes  the  pipes  will  be- 
come furred,  and  the  cooling  effect  of  the  water  thereby  re- 
duced, by  reason  both  of  the  diminished  capacity  for  water 
and  the  increased  thickness  of  the  containing  walls.  The  fur 
may  be  dissolved  by  introducing  a  quantity  of  some  strong 
alkali,  such  as  caustic  soda,  into  the  cooling  water.  Two  or 
three  applications  may  be  made  until  the  water  comes  away 
practically  clean. 

If  one  of  the  pipes  break,  a  temporary  repair  may  be 
effected  by  slipping  a  length  of  rubber  tubing  over  the  broken 
ends,  and  binding  tightly  with  wire.  If  the  pipe  has  broken 
off  close  to  one  end,  a  reunion  can  sometimes  be  effected  by 
tapering  down  the  end  of  the  pipe  and  somewhat  enlarging 
the  hole  it  ought  to  communicate  with.  The  end  of  the  pipe 
is  then  forced  into  the  hole  and  tied  in  position,  and  the  joint 
completed  with  red  lead  and  insulating  tape.  This  is  a  rather 
difficult  repair,  and  should  be  superseded  by  a  workshop  job 
as  soon  as  possible. 

The  Care  of  Tires. 

One  of  the  great  advantages  of  pneumatic  tires  is  that  their 
strength  of  spring  can  be  adjusted  to  the  work  they  have  to 
do,  and  they  should  be  inflated  to  such  a  pressure  that  they 
will  give  only  slightly  when  they  rest  under  the  weight  of 
the  car  and  passengers.  So  long  as  these  conditions  continue 
all  is  well.  Occasional  reinflation  may  be  necessary.  A  speedy 
deflation  demands  instant  attention.  Pneumatic  tires  cost 
quite  enough  while  doing  their  work,  but  to  drive  a  car  with  a 
deflated  tire  is  ruinous. 

Directly  a  tire  goes  down  the  car  should  be  stopped,  and 
the  cause  ascertained.  In  case  of  doubt,  the  first  thing  to  do 
is  to  reinflate,  and  then  ascertain  if  the  valve  is  leaking,  by 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  121 

placing  a  film  of  moisture  over  the  orifice  at  the  exposed  end. 
If  this  is  found  to  be  the  seat  of  the  trouble,  the  valve  should 
be  tightened  up  or  repaired,  as  the  case  may  require.  But 
unless  the  valve  can  be  dealt  with  from  the  outside,  the  next 
step  is  to  jack  up  the  wheel  and  clean  the  outside  of  the  tire 
cover.  Then  the  tire  must  be  completely  deflated,  when  it  may 
be  opened. 

Removing  the  Cover. 

The  nuts  holding  down  the  valve,  and  the  security  bolts, 
must  be  screwed  nearly  off,  and  the  valve  and  bolts  pushed 
well  back  into  the  tire.  The  side  of  the  cover  nearer  to  you 
should  then  be  pressed  away  from  you  all  round  the  wheel,  so 
as  to  unstick  the  edge,  bead,  or  rib  of  the  cover  from  the  edge 
of  the  rim.  Now  take  two  tire  levers  and  thrust  them  down 
between  the  edges  of  the  cover  and  rim,  about  nine  inches 
apart.  Do  not  push  the  levers  too  far  in  or  they  may  damage 
the  air  tube.  Press  down  the  outer  ends  of  the  levers,  so  as  to 
raise  the  edge  of  the  cover  above  the  edge  of  the  rim.  If  you 
have  a  helper,  let  him  insert  a  third  lever,  about  nine  inches 
beyond  the  second,  and  pull  it  down  like  the  others.  But  if  you 
are  alone  on  the  job,  pull  the  first  lever  down  to  the  vertical 
and  secure  it  by  a  loop  to  one  of  the  spokes.  The  loop  should 
be  put  around  the  spoke  before  pulling  the  lever  down.  Hav- 
ing secured  the  first  lever,  move  the  second  further  along  and 
pull  it  down  again.  Quite  a  number  of  special  tire  levers  have 
been  introduced,  some  of  which  are  much  easier  to  manipulate 
than  the  ordinary  bar  levers.  Repeat  the  levering  until  a  good 
portion  of  the  cover  has  been  pried  over  the  edge  of  the  rim ; 
the  rest  can  be  worked  out  by  hand.  The  valve  may  now  be 
completely  removed  from  the  rim,  and  the  air  tube  withdrawn 
from  the  cover. 

It  may  be  that  there  is  a  leak  between  the  head  of  the  valve 
and  the  air  tube,  and  this  may  generally  be  cured  by  tighten- 
ing the  nut  which  secures  the  valve  to  the  tube. 

In  cleaning  the  cover,  however,  one  may  have  come  across 
a  cut,  or  the  head  of  a  nail,  or  other  interesting  object,  indicat- 


122  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

ing  a  puncture,  and  the  interior  of  the  cover  should  be  care- 
fully examined  to  see  if  any  nails  or  the  like  are  projecting 
through  the  inner  surface,  and  also  to  see  whether  any  parts 
of  the  lining  are  discolored  by  the  penetration  of  wet  through 
cuts  in  the  rubber.  Wet  rots  the  canvas  very  quickly,  and 
such  spots  should  be  treated  both  from  without  and  from 
within. 

Advantage  of  Spare  Tubes. 

Repairing  a  puncture  in  a  motor  car  tire  is  a  much  more 
serious  affair  than  dealing  writh  a  similar  trouble  in  a  bicycle 
tire ;  and,  even  with  light  car  tires,  unless  the  patching  process 
is  very  carefully  and  patiently  carried  out,  the  result  will  not 
be  satisfactory.  Hence  it  is  much  better  to  carry  one  or  two 
spare  tubes,  and  insert  one  of  these,  than  to  attempt  to  execute 
a  repair  by  the  roadside. 

Vulcanized  Tire  Repairs. 

The  unsatisfactory  results  too  frequently  attaching  to 
attempts  to  repair  motor  car  tires  by  the  ordinary  patching 
system  have  led  to  the  introduction  of  small  vulcanizing  plants, 
some  of  which  are  portable  enough  to  be  carried  on  a  car,  and 
indeed  are  specially  constructed  with  a  view  to  this.  The 
system  differs  essentially  from  patching,  in  that  the  damaged 
part  is  remade  instead  of  merely  repaired.  In  the  case  of  a 
punctured  air  tube,  the  rubber  round  the  hole  is  cut  away  so 
as  to  form  a  beveled  or  concave  seating  extending  right 
through  the  wall  of  the  tube.  This  gives  a  fresh  surface  of 
large  area.  The  cutting  may  be  effected  by  gouging,  or  by 
folding  the  tube  so  as  to  bring  the  puncture  to  a  corner,  and 
then  snipping  off  the  corner  with  a  pair  of  sharp  scissors.  The 
tool  should  be  wetted,  as  rubber  cuts  much  more  easily  when 
wet  than  when  dry.  The  fresh  surface  is  then  roughened  by 
rubbing  with  sandpaper  or  a  small  rasp  to  facilitate  penetra- 
tion by  the  flux,  which  is  next  applied  thereto.  This  flux  is  a 
solution  of  raw  rubber  mixed  with  sulphur  and  other  ingredi- 
ents. When  the  first  coat  of  flux  becomes  stickv.  a  second 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  123 

may  be  applied,  and  this  should  also  be  allowed  to  reach  the 
"tacky"  stage  before  the  next  operation  is  proceeded  with. 

It  is  convenient  while  doing  this  part  of  the  work  to  tie  the 
air  tube  down  flat,  as,  for  example,  across  the  top  of  a  wheel 
with  a  sound  tire. 

The  next  thing  to  do  is  to  fill  up  the  enlarged  hole  with  rub- 
ber compound,  which  is  a  similar  material  to  the  flux,  but  in 
a  plastic  or  putty-like  state.  It  is  well  to  warm  the  compound, 
as  by  dabbing  it  on  the  vulcanizer,  before  kneading  it  into 
place.  The  compound  should  be  pressed  well  in,  and  rather 
more  than  enough  applied.  The  surplus  should  be  trimmed 
off  with  a  wet,  sharp  knife,  great  care  being  taken  not  to  cut 
the  tube  in  so  doing. 

A  typical  apparatus  consists  of  a  small  brass  boiler  with 
vertical  fire  tubes.  One  side  of  the  boiler  is  made  flat  to  adapt 
it  to  the  vulcanizing  of  air  tubes ;  the  opposite  side  is  concaved 
to  suit  the  contour  of  the  outer  surface  of  the  purchaser's  tire 
covers.  The  water  is  filled  into  the  boiler  through  an  orifice 
at  the  top  until  it  runs  out  at  the  blow-off  cock,  which  also 
forms  part  of  the  steam  pressure  gauge  on  the  boiler.  The 
furnace  consists  of  a  cylindrical  alcohol  lamp.  The  spirit  is 
soaked  up  by  cotton-wool  located  in  the  cylinder  under  a  wire 
gauze  burning  surface.  The  lamp  telescopes  into  the  lower 
part  of  the  boiler,  and  the  heat  can  be  regulated  by  pushing  in 
and  drawing  out  a  sliding  sleeve  or  extinguisher  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent.  A  detachable  metal  arm  is  secured  to  the  upper 
part  of  the  boiler,  and  forms  a  handle  by  which  the  vulcanizer 
can  be  moved  about.  The  bent  outer  end  of  the  arm  forms  a 
bracket,  and  carries  a  screw  between  the  end  of  which  and  the 
flat  surface  of  the  boiler  the  air  tube  is  gripped  during  the  vul- 
canizing process.  A  metal  plate  and  a  block  of  wood  or  vul- 
canized fiber  are  introduced  between  the  point  of  the  screw 
and  the  air  tube.  The  vulcanizer  is  fitted  with  a  socket  where- 
by it  can  be  mounted  on  the  rear  light  lamp-bracket  when 
repairing  air  tubes,  and  with  a  detachable  chain  device  where- 
by it  may  be  secured  directly  to  the  wheel  in  the  case  of  repair- 
ing a  cut  cover. 


124  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  the  boiler  is  employed 
simply  because  it  provides  the  most  convenient  method  for 
securing  the  necessary  heat.  There  is  no  magic  in  the  heat 
being  produced  by  steam.  Further,  the  steam  pressure  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  pressure  exerted  on  the  tube  or  cover 
under  repair.  The  pressure  of  the  steam  is  merely  useful  as 
indicating  in  a  convenient  manner  certain  temperatures  corre- 
sponding thereto.  As  it  takes  some  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  to 
raise  cold  water  to  the  necessary  steam  pressure  of  50  Ibs. 
to  the  square  inch  (corresponding  to  a  good  vulcanizing  tem- 
perature of  about  281°  F.),  it  is  advisable  to  start  the  boiler 
before  preparing  the  punctured  part  of  the  air  tube,  and  also 
to  use  warm  water  (as  from  the  radiator)  instead  of  cold. 

The  injured  tube  having  been  treated  as  above  described, 
and  the  indicator  on  the  boiler  showing  50  Ibs.  pressure,  a 
piece  of  tissue  paper  or  linen,  rather  larger  than  the  flat  sur- 
face of  the  boiler,  is  laid  on  the  part  of  the  tube,  which  is  then? 
pressed  flat  against  the  boiler  by  means  of  the  screw  and 
plates.  The  screw  should  be  turned  by  the  fingers  only ;  this 
will  give  sufficient  pressure.  The  paper  or  linen  prevents  the 
rubber  compound  sticking  to  the  surface  of  the  boiler.  The 
wood  or  fiber  plate  should  not  be  so  large  as  to  reach  and 
pinch  the  edges  of  the  air  tube.  If  the  wound  is  a  large  one, 
instead  of  a  mere  puncture,  it  should  be  treated  in  a  similar 
way ;  but  it  is  then  as  well  to  insert  a  piece  of  tissue  paper  in 
the  air  tube,  so  that  the  repaired  part  shall  not  stick  to  the 
opposite  wall  when  vulcanized.  After  about  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  the  sulphur  will  be  thoroughly  melted,  and  the  raw  rub- 
ber compound  thereby  vulcanized. 

The  tube  may  now  be  removed  from  the  vulcanizer,  and  if 
the  thumb-nail  be  dug  into  the  repaired  part,  the  impression 
should  quickly  disappear  when  the  nail  is  removed,  otherwise 
the  vulcanizing  should  be  carried  on  for  a  few  minutes  longer. 
The  time  varies  with  the  thickness  of  the  article  being  treated, 
not  with  the  size  of  the  surface.  A  gash  will  take  no  longer 
to  vulcanize  than  a  puncture,  but  a  thick  tube  should  be  given 
about  twenty  minutes  instead  of  fifteen. 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  125 

Cuts  in  the  cover  are  treated  substantially  in  the  same  way. 
The  rubber  should  be  cut  away  around  the  injury  right  down 
to  the  first  canvas,  and  at  such  an  angle  as  to  expose  a  large 
surface  of  fresh  rubber  around  it.  It  is  then  rasped  and  treated 
with  one  or  two  coats  of  flux,  and  after  the  last  of  these  has 
become  tacky,  the  hole  is  filled  up  with  compound,  well  pressed 
in  with  a  roller  tool  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  pared  off 
flush  with  the  surface  of  the  cover.  Meanwhile  the  vulcanizer 
has  been  getting  up  steam  on  the  bracket.  The  damaged  por- 
tion of  the  cover  is  brought  to  the  back  or  front  of  the  wheel. 
The  injury  is  covered  with  paper  or  linen,  and  the  vulcanizer 
is  secured  to  the  wheel,  with  the  concave  side  to  the  injury,  by 
means  of  a  chain  which  should  be  screwed  up  fairly  tight,  but 
not  so  as  to  indent  the  cover  materially.  Owing  to  the  greater 
thickness  of  the  material,  the  heat  will  have  some  difficulty  in 
penetrating  it.  A  pressure  of  60  Ibs.  may  be  used  for  about 
fifteen  minutes,  twenty  minutes  being  necessary  for  50  Ibs. 
The  cover  should  be  perfectly  dry,  and  the  dryness  may  gen- 
erally be  obtained  by  putting  the  vulcanizer  in  position  before 
the  required  pressure  has  been  obtained,  so  that  the  moisture 
may  be  evaporated  before  the  50  Ibs.  or  60  Ibs.  has  been 
reached,  and  before  the  vulcanizing  has  commenced.  A  pad  of 
cloth  should  be  placed  temporarily  between  the  cover  and  vul- 
canizer to  let  the  damp  vapor  escape.  Special  adapters  can 
be  obtained  for  covers  of  special  formation. 

The  above  described  vulcanizer  weighs  about  10  Ibs.  More 
elaborate  ones  are  made  for  garage  use,  and  are  provided  with 
means  for  repairing  burst  covers.  In  the  case  of  an  ordinary 
burst,  the  cover  should  be  turned  inside  out,  and  a  large  piece 
of  the  lining  should  be  cut  away  right  across  the  inside  of 
the  cover.  Then  the  material  should  be  cut  away  in  layers 
extending  to  the  depth  of  one  canvas  each.  The  portions  of 
canvas  cut  away  should  be  of  rectangular  form  with  rounded 
corners,  and  each  layer  should  measure  about  one  and  a  half 
to  two  inches  less  in  length  and  breadth  than  the  one  previ- 
ously removed.  The  last  layer  of  canvas  should  not  be  cut 
out,  but  should  be  left  bare  to  the  extent  of  about  one  inch  all 


126  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

round  the  burst.  During  this  operation  the  portions  of  fresh 
canvas  should  be  cut  to  the  shapes  of  those  detached,  and  satu- 
rated with  the  flux,  successive  coats  being  applied  and  allowed 
to  get  "tacky"  until  a  substantial  film  of  rubber  is  left  on  both 
the  surfaces.  The  steps  cut  in  the  cover  should  be  coated  with 
flux  in  the  same  way.  The  cover  is  now  turned  back  again 
outside  out.  The  wound  in  the  tread  is  treated  as  before 
described,  and  the  patches  of  canvas  are  laid  in  position,  and 
pressed  down  with  the  roller.  The  last  piece  should  be  con- 
siderably larger  than  the  others,  and  as  it  is  to  replace  the 
damaged  portion  of  the  lining,  it  should  be  solutioned  on  the 
back  only.  When  this  is  in  place,  the  cover  is  put  in  the  vul- 
canizer  between  two  properly  shaped  steam  containers,  one 
inside  and  the  other  out,  and  it  is  bound  down  tightly  to  the 
inner  container  by  a  strip  of  webbing  wound  on  spirally.  The 
parts  are  gripped  thus,  and  a  pressure  of  60  Ibs.  is  kept  up  for 
about  twenty-five  minutes,  or  longer  if  necessary. 

Air  tubes  may  be  joined,  and  other  jobs  done  in  a  substan- 
tially similar  manner. 

Repairs  by   Patching. 

In  the  absence  of  a  sound  spare  tube  and  of  a  vulcanizer, 
the  patching  process  will  have  to  be  resorted  to.  The  air  tube 
should  be  examined  for  one  or  more  punctures.  If  the  trouble 
cannot  be  ascertained  by  mere  inspection,  the  tube  should  be 
reinflated  lightly,  and  immersed  and  stretched,  bit  by  bit,  in 
a  large  bowl  of  water,  when  the  seat  of  the  injury  will  be  dis- 
covered by  a  stream  of  bubbles  issuing  from  the  puncture. 

Draw  a  ring  on  the  tube,  concentrically  with  the  puncture, 
with  an  indelible  ink  pencil.  As  this  is  to  serve  as  a  guide  to 
the  position  of  the  hole  during  the  subsequent  operations,  it 
should  be  rather  larger  than  the  patch  to  be  applied.  The  sur- 
face around  the  puncture  and  within  the  ring  must  be  thorough- 
ly cleaned.  Gasolene  is  very  useful  for  cleaning  off  the  sulphur 
and  preparing  the  rubber  for  the  solution.  A  block  of  sulphur 
is  also  handy ;  but  the  usual  process  is  to  wrap  a  piece  of  glass 
paper  round  something  hard,  such  as  the  chalk  case,  and  rub 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  127 

the  tube  clean  around  the  seat  of  the  injury.  When  all  the 
sulphur  has  been  removed,  a  thin  film  of  indiarubber  solu- 
tion should  be  spread  on  the  prepared  surface.  The  area  of 
the  film  should  be  sufficient  to  extend  well  beyond  the 
edges  of  the  patch  to  be  applied.  This  film  should  be  allowed 
five  or  ten  minutes  to  dry,  and  another  spread  over  it,  and 
subsequently  a  third.  If  the  films  of  solution  are  exposed  to 
the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  they  will  dry  quickly. 

One  of  the  rubber  patches  in  the  repair  outfit  should  be 
chosen  according  to  its  size,  and  this  also  should  be  cleaned 
and  given  three  coats  of  solution,  each  being  thoroughly  dry 
before  the  next  is  applied.  If  the  patch  shows  an  irresistible 
desire  to  curl  up,  encourage  it  to  embrace  a  fixed  rod  of  suit- 
able diameter,  so  that  it  shall  not  roll  about  and  get  covered 
with  dust,  etc.  The  patch  should  then  be  carefully  laid  on 
the  solutioned  part  of  the  tube,  which  should  be  quite  empty 
of  air  at  the  time.  The  patch  should  be  firmly  pressed  down 
on  the  tube,  the  pressure  being  applied  from  the  center  out- 
ward, so  as  to  drive  out  any  bubbles  of  air  that  may  have 
been  caught  between  the  patch  and  the  tube.  The  patched 
portion  of  the  tube  may  be  laid  between  two  flat  plates  and 
moderate  pressure  applied,  as  by  a  vise  or  a  weight.  When 
the  patch  is  well  set,  it  should  be  further  secured  by  a  much 
larger  canvas-backed  patch  solutioned  on  in  a  similar  way,  the 
canvas  being  outward. 

If  the  puncturing  object  has  penetrated  right  through  the 
tube,  of  course  both  holes  will  require  mending;  and  a  second 
hole  should  always  be  carefully  looked  for.  Sometimes  one 
puncturing  object  will  make  quite  a  lot  of  holes  close  to- 
gether. Try  to  cover  them  all  with  one  big  patch. 

Treating  the  Cover. 

Outwardly,  the  hole  in  the  rubber  should  be  carefully  probed 
and  freed  from  grit,  and  then  cleaned  with  gasolene,  benzene, 
or  the  like  solvent.  The  surfaces  of  the  hole  should  next  be 
solutioned  with  two  or  three  coats,  and  the  wound  bound  up 
until  the  solution  has  set.  If  the  hole  gapes,  it  should  be 


128  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

plugged  with  some  of  the  stopping  preparations  sold  for  the 
purpose.  Inwardly,  the  weak  place  in  the  fabric  should  be 
reinforced  by  a  piece  of  prepared  canvas  extending  not  only 
the  full  width  of  the  cover,  but  a  short  distance  up  the  out- 
side as  well,  so  as  to  be  gripped  by  the  rim.  This  should  be 
carefully  solutioned  in  place.  The  canvas  should  be  cleaned 
with  gasolene  before  applying  the  coats  of  solution,  plenty 
of  which  will  be  necessary.  The  cover  ought  not  really  to  be 
used  for  some  twelve  hours  or  more,  hence  the  advantage  of 
carrying  a  spare  cover;  but  if  none  has  been  brought,  the 
damaged  part  should  be  relieved  from  strain  either  by  lacing  a 
gaiter  round  the  cover  and  felloe  of  the  wheel ;  or,  if  this 
cannot  be  done,  a  short  canvas  sleeve  may  be  sewn  around  the 
air  tube.  This  sleeve  should  be  large  enough  to  allow  the  tube 
to  assume  its  ordinary  diameter,  but  small  enough  to  relieve 
the  cover  from  strain.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  prick  the 
tube  when  sewing  the  sleeve.  Actual  bursts  in  the  cover  must 
be  treated  in  the  same  way,  but  on  a  larger  scale.  If  a  gaiter  is 
employed,  it  should  be  laced  on  while  the  tire  is  only  lightly 
inflated.  When  the  inflation  is  completed,  the  extra  pressure 
will  cause  the  gaiter  to  set  very  closely,  as  it  should  do. 

Stripping  the  Wheel. 

In  case  the  cover  has  to  be  completely  detached  from  the 
wheel,  pull  down  the  bolts  near  the  top  of  the  wheel,  and  in- 
sert two  levers,  about  nine  inches  apart,  tinder  the  remaining 
edge  of  the  cover.  Press  on  the  outer  ends  of  the  levers,  and 
then  push  them  forward,  so  that  they  bridge  across  the  rim, 
resting  on  both  edges  thereof.  The  edge  of  the  cover  at  the 
top  of  the  wheel  will  now  lie  on  the  levers,  and  may  be  drawn 
along  them  across,  and  over  the  edge  of,  the  rim.  Pressing 
down  the  handles  of  the  levers  will  assist  the  operation.  When 
the  cover  is  thus  released  from  the  top  of  the  rim,  it  may  be 
easily  withdrawn  from  the  rest  thereof. 

Before  reinstating  the  tire,  the  interior  of  the  cover  should 
be  liberally  dusted  with  powdered  talc,  generally  called  French 
chalk.  Blacklead  or  grate  polish  (or,  more  properly,  graphite) 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  129 

forms  an  efficient,  though  dirty,  substitute  for  the  chalk.  All 
solutioned  parts  in  the  cover  and  on  the  tube  should  receive 
special  allowances.  Sometimes  a  quantity  of  grit  and  dirt 
will  accumulate  in  the  cover;  this  may  be  picked  up  with  a 
small  lump  of  soft  clay  or  putty. 

While  the  rim  is  bare,  take  the  opportunity  of  seeing  that 
it  is  clean,  free  from  dents  and  rust,  and  well  covered  with 
enamel.  If  there  are  any  bare  or  rusty  patches,  and  it  is  not 
convenient  to  enamel  them  at  the  moment,  give  them  a  wipe 
with  a  greasy  cloth,  as  rust  rots  canvas  quickly.  The  grease 
must  be  cleaned  off  thoroughly  before  applying  the  enamel. 

Replacing  the  Tire. 

If  the  bed  of  the  rim  is  uneven,  see  that  it  is  covered  with 
an  evenly-laid  tight  tape.  Straighten  or  replace  any  security 
bolts  that  have  got  bent,  and  push  them  up  from  the  bed. 
Put  a  few  pumpfuls  of  air  into  the  inner  tube,  and  place  in 
position  in  the  cover,  while  the  cover  is  still  off  the  rim.  Be 
very  careful  to  get  the  valve  stem  comfortably  into  the  notches 
in  the  cover.  Turn  the  wheel  round  until  the  valve  hole  is  at 
the  top.  Now  very  carefully  place  the  tire  on  the  upper  part 
of  the  wheel,  so  that  the  further  edge  goes  into  the  rim,  and 
the  valve  can  be  put  into  its  hole  without  straining  to  right  or 
left.  Work  the  further  edge  of  the  cover  into  place  under 
the  edge  of  the  rim  and  under  the  heads  of  the  bolts.  Much 
of  this  can  be  done  by  hand ;  the  levers  must  be  used  for  the 
rest. 

The  parts  are  now  in  the  position  they  occupy  when  the 
cover  has  been  opened  merely,  not  entirely  detached  from  the 
wheel.  Supposing  the  air  tube  has  been  withdrawn,  and  is  to 
be  replaced,  the  stem  of  the  valve  should  be  passed  into  its  hole 
and  the  valve  completed,  except  for  tightening  the  outside 
locknut;  and  the  heads  of  the  bolts  should  be  pressed  down 
into  the  bed  of  the  rim.  The  tube  should  be  slightly  inflated 
and  tucked  into  the  cover,  care  being  taken  not  to  twist  it,  or 
to  disturb  any  of  the  patches.  Pass  the  hand  round  between 


130  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

the  air  tube  and  the  rim  to  make  sure  that  the  tube  is  not 
caught  by  any  of  the  bolt  heads. 

The  valve  and  bolts  are  next  pushed  up  again,  and  the  other 
edge  of  the  cover  is  got  back  into  the  rim  like  the  first.  The 
bead  may  be  helped  under  the  edge  of  the  rim  by  prodding  it 
with  the  end  of  the  tire  lever;  but  if  it  is  very  obstinate  it 
probably  means  that  the  air  tube  has  got  down  between  the 
edges  of  the  cover.  If  this  is  suspected,  it  is  much  the  best  to 
open  the  tire  again,  and  then  reinsert  the  second  edge  of  the 
cover,  as  a  nipped  tube  spells  disaster,  none  the  less  deadly 
because  deferred.  A  little  judgment  is  required  to  pump  the 
air  tube  tight  enough  to  prevent  nipping  in  this  way,  and  yet 
not  so  tight  as  to  prevent  the  second  edge  of  the  cover  being 
got  back  into  place.  If  the  security  bolts  can  be  moved  up 
and  down  in  their  holes  without  difficulty,  it  generally  shows 
that  the  tube  is  not  being  nipped.  When  satisfied  on  this 
point,  you  may  tighten  up  the  nuts  of  the  valve  and  bolts,  and 
put  a  little  more  air  into  the  tire. 

The  wheel  should  now  be  slowly  rotated,  and  the  tire  pulled 
and  pushed  laterally,  and  pommeled  well  with  the  fist.  This 
enourages  the  parts  to  assume  their  proper  positions.  After 
a  due  amount  of  exercise  of  this  sort,  the  tire  may  be  fully 
inflated,  and  the  nuts  of  the  valve  and  security  bolts  given  a 
final  turn. 

Miscellaneous  Hints. 

After  running  a  few  miles,  go  over  these  nuts  again.  It  is 
important  to  have  them  tight  to  prevent  the  tire  creeping  or 
wrenching  or  blowing  off,  and  to  prevent  water  getting  in. 
Turning  corners  too  fast  is  a  frequent  cause  of  the  tires  com- 
ing off  if  the  bolts  are  loose ;  and  if  the  tires  are  too  weak  or 
the  speed  too  high,  the  cover  may  split  along  at  the  edge  of 
the  rim.  Under  such  circumstances  a  temporary  repair  may 
perhaps  be  made  with  a  gaiter,  etc.,  but  a  permanent  repair 
is  often  impossible.  Tires  stand  best  when  the  inflation  is 
kept  well  up  to  the  mark.  If  the  tire  gets  flabby  it  will  get 
pinched  between  the  rim  and  the  ground,  will  let  the  water 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  131 

in,  will  wear  out  rapidly,  will  be  more  likely  to  sideslip  and 
will  waste  power. 

Cheeseparing  does  not  pay  with  tires.  Have  the  covers  re- 
treaded  as  soon  as  they  are  worn  enough  to  show  the  first 
ply  of  canvas.  Do  not.  try  to  fit  the  tires  of  one  maker  to 
the  rims  of  another,  unless  the  tire  maker  approves.  Have 
all  difficult  repairs  done,  or  completed,  as  the  case  may  be,  by 
the  manufacturers  of  the  tire. 

In  case  a  tire  is  damaged  beyond  repair,  one  may  remove 
the  air  tube  and  stuff  the  cover  with  hay  or  any  other  suitable 
material  that  may  be  at  hand ;  or  one  may  lay  some  thick 
coils  of  rope  round  the  rim.  But  these  are  expedients  only 
to  be  resorted  to  when  "in  extremis." 

If  the  car  is  to  be  put  away  for  any  length  of  time,  it  is 
best  to  jack  up  all  the  wheels  and  to  inflate  the  tires  only 
hard  enough  to  keep  them  in  shape.  They  should  be  wiped 
over  occasionally  with  a  rag  dipped  in  warm  water,  and  should 
be  kneaded  to  maintain  their  suppleness. 

As  to  solid  tires,  little  advice  can  be  given,  except  that 
they  should  be  examined  with  a  view  to  ascertain  that  their 
means  of  attachment  are  secure.  Any  large  cuts  should  be 
picked  out  and  mended  as  above  described  in  relation  to  the 
covers  of  pneumatic  tires. 

Care  of  a  Car  on  Tour — The  man  who  starts  on  tour  starts 
with  the  risk  of  trouble — unless  his  outfit  is  complete,  and  it  is 
with  a  view  of  eliminating  all  sources  of  worry  that  one  can  lay 
to  one's  own  charge  that  the  following  paragraphs  deal  with 
the  necessary  preliminary  preparations  to  forestall  avoidable 
mischance. 

First,  says  a  noted  European  motorist,  the  tires  should  be 
taken  from  their  wheels,  the  rims  sandpapered  inside,  and  the 
bed  of  the  rim  enameled  with  some  quick-drying  enamel. 
Next  the  heads  of  the  security  bolts  should  be  examined  as  to 
their  covering.  They  will  generally  be  found  a  mass  of 
crumpled  leather.  Replace  with  repairing  canvas  by  cutting1 
two  pieces  to  the  required  shape,  snip  a  small  hole  in  one  of 
the  pieces  for  the  stem  to  pass  through,  and  then  press  the 


132  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

solutioned  sides  together  and  trim  up  with  scissors.  Now  rub 
the  inside  of  the  cover  round  with  a  duster,  run  your  hand 
round  critically  for  any  bits  of  flint  or  other  puncturing  ma- 
terial that  may  lurk  therein,  and  look  for  any  signs  of  crack- 
ing or  chafing  in  the  lining  canvas.  If  you  find  a  suspicious- 
looking  place,  put  a  patch  on,  for  there  is  nothing  worse  for 
your  tube  than  an  apparently  insignificant  weakness  of  the 
cover.  The  tube  seems  to  chafe  through  at  such  spots,  even 
when  there  is  no  actual  perforation  of  the  cover  further  than 
perhaps  one  or  two  layers  of  the  inner  canvas.  In  replacing 
the  covers  use  plenty  of  French  chalk,  without  overdosing, 
or  you  will  find  it  in  cakes  when  you  take  them  off  the  next 
time;  chalk  your  tube,  and  put  a  little  air  in  before  you  get 
the  last  edge  of  your  cover  off.  Blow  them  up  hard  ;  they  stand 
a  better  chance  of  retaining  the  air,  especially  if  there  are 
any  patches  on  the  tubes. 

Engine  Treatment. 

Next,  you  must  put  your  engine  in  proper  trim,  and  to  do 
this  thoroughly  will  take  both  time  and  patience,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  a  suit  of  overalls,  and,  if  possible,  an  inspection  pit. 
There  will  no  doubt  be  doors  of  some  sort  to  the  crank-case, 
so  that  you  can  discover  whether  there  is  too  much  play  in 
the  connecting  rod  brasses  (bushings).  Put  the  particular 
crank  you  are  investigating  on  the  bottom  dead  center,  grasp 
the  connecting  rod,  and  see  if  you  can  move  it  up  and  down ; 
if  there  is  any  play,  say  1/32  inch,  the  brass  had  better  be 
taken  up. 

It  will  depend  on  the  position  of  the  inspection  door  how 
you  go  about  this  job.  If  you  have  one  on  each  side,  it  will 
be  easy  to  get  a  spanner  to  the  nuts  on  the  big  end ;  drop  the 
cap  and  the  bottom  brass,  then  push  the  piston  and  rod  up  out 
of  the  way,  and  pull  the  top  brass  out  of  its  seating.  Now 
place  the  brasses  on  the  crank  pin,  hold  them  together  with 
thumb  and  finger,  and  see  how  much  shake  there  really  is. 
Let  this  be  your  guide  in  filing  the  edges  of  the  brasses,  to 
do  which  it  is  best  to  lay  the  smooth  file  on  the  bench  and 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  133 

rub  the  brass  to  and  fro  upon  it  with  equal  and  steady  pres- 
sure, unless  you  are  an  expert  hand  with  the  file.  Keep  trying 
the  brasses  on  the  pin,  and  reduce  each  an  equal  amount  as 
far  as  possible,  until  the  amount  of  shake  is  only  just  discerni- 
ble. You  may  then  find  it  necessary  to  file  something  off  the 
cap  before  reassembling  the  parts,  or  you  may  have  to  put  a 
piece  of  tin  or  zinc  under  one  of  the  brasses,  but  whichever 
commends  itself  to  you,  be  sure  the  cap  really  grips  the  brasses 
when  the  nuts  are  tightened  up,  and  that  there  is  no  space  be- 
tween them.  When  all  is  tight,  give  your  engine  a  turn  by 
hand  to  see  there  is  no  binding.  If  there  is,  you  have  taken 
too  much  oft"  the  edges  of  the  brasses,  and  will  have  to  insert 
a  bit  of  tin,  but  with  reasonable  care  this  should  not  happen. 
Then,  finding  all  serene,  you  go  on  to  the  next  big  end,  and 
repeat  the  process.  These  directions  do  not  apply  to  the 
usual  type  of  single-cylinder  engines,  but  are  applicable  to 
Darracqs. 

Valve  Treatment. 

Valves  will  now  need  attention,  and  for  grinding  in  there 
are  a  number  of  things  advertised  and  recommended.  Knife 
polish  and  water  give  good  results,  assisted  by  a  carpenter's 
brace  with  a  screwdriver  fitted  in  the  chuck.  In  case  of  bad 
pitting,  a  skim-up  in  the  lathe  saves  much  labor,  and  when 
done  be  sure  there  is  1/32  inch  clearance  between  the  ex- 
haust valve  stem  and  its  lifter;  if  not,  make  it  so.  There  is  no 
need  to  get  a  bearing  all  over  the  valve  seating.  A  line  of 
bright  contact  as  wide  as  a  thread  is  sufficient,  but  it  must  go 
all  round  the  valve.  If  there  is  any  emery  lying  about,  wash 
it  out  with  gasolene.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  put  a  piece  of  waste 
in  the  cylinder  port  while  grinding  operations  are  going  on. 
When  all  the  valves  are  ground  in,  give  the  engine  another 
turn  round,  and  see  they  all  have  the  proper  lift.  You  may 
find  a  worn  cam  and  a  valve  that  is  opening  late  and  shutting 
early  in  consequence. 

It  would  be  well  at  this  juncture  to  ascertain  the  accuracy 
of  your  timing,  by  turning  the  engine  and  checking  the  rela- 


134  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

live  positions  of  the  exhaust  valves  and  pistons.  Where  there 
is  a  compression  cock,  push  a  piece  of  steel  wire,  such  as  a 
bicycle  spoke  or  a  knitting  needle,  through  the  orifice,  and 
feel  the  piston-head  as  it  rises  on  the  exhaust  stroke.  The 
valve  should  shut  when  the  piston  is  at  the  highest  point. 
If  you  have  mechanical  inlet  valves,  they  should  commence  to 
open  at  the  precise  moment,  or  immediately  after,  the  exhaust 
valves  close — that  is,  when  the  piston  is  just  at  its  highest  point. 

Ignition. 

In  overhauling  the  ignition  apparatus,  it  is  well  to  begin 
at  the  source  of  your  current,  which  will  most  likely  be  in  the 
form  of  accumulators  or  storage  cells.  Disconnect  them  from 
the  primary  wires,  and  if  they  have  transparent  cases,  look  at 
the  plates,  which  should  be  alternately  plum  color  and  gray- 
ish blue.  See  if  any  particles  threaten  to  bridge  the  space  be- 
tween positive  and  negative  plates,  and  if  there  is  much  sedi- 
ment in  the  bottom.  These  are  both  prolific  causes  of  short 
circuit  and  untimely  failure  of  your  supply  of  electricity.  If 
all  appears  well  within,  test  them  with  a  testing  lamp  of  the 
proper  capacity.  Four  volts  two  amperes  is  about  the  right 
thing,  and  if  such  a  lamp  burns  brightly  for  several  minutes 
without  diminishing  in  intensity,  you  can  conclude  the  battery 
is  all  right.  If  you  use  a  voltmeter,  it  should  show  over  four 
volts,  but  under  no  circumstances  use  an  ammeter,  or  short 
the  terminals  with  a  file.  In  one  case  you  will  fuse  the  wir- 
ing of  the  instrument,  and  in  the  other  you  stand  a  good  chance 
of  buckling  a  plate  or  loosening  some  of  the  paste  from  which 
the  plates  are  built  up.  Before  connecting  the  wires  again, 
see  that  the  terminals  are  bright  and  clean,  also  the  ends  of 
the  wires ;  tighten  up  the  nuts  with  a  pair  of  pliers,  and  smear 
with  vaseline,  or,  better  still,  wrap  the  lot  up  in  rubber  tape. 
The  casual  screwdriver  or  what-not  falling  across  the  termi- 
nals will  then  fail  to  bring  about  your  undoing. 

Adjustment  of  the  Coil. 

One  of  the  battery  wires  will  lead  to  the  switch,  thence 
to  the  frame,  where  it  should  make  a  good  and  sound  con- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  135 

nection;  the  other  goes  to  the  coil,  where  it  should  connect 
to  the  primary  terminal,  generally  marked  P.  The  current 
supplied  by  this  wire  now  traverses  the  primary  winding  of 
the  coil,  and  comes  out  at  the  terminal  marked  M  or  T — motor 
or  trembler.  The  wire  from  this  terminal  goes  to  the  con- 
tact breaker,  and  is  connected  to  the  blade  thereof  in  the  caso 
of  a  wipe  contact,  or  to  the  platinum-pointed  screw  in  the  case 
of  the  make-and-break  type.  The  make-and-break  contact  will 
probably  require  some  attention  in  the  shape  of  filing  up  or 
cleaning  the  platinum  rivets  on  the  blade  and  adjustable  screw. 
Take  care  when  reassembling  that  the  distance  between  blade 
and  screw  is  equal  in  each  case — i.  e.,  where  there  are  two  or 
more  cylinders — and  that  the  platinums  come  hard  together, 
backed  up  by  the  spring  of  the  blade.  Good  flat  contacts 
should  be  filed,  or  there  will  be  misfiring  when  you  get  going. 
See  that  all  the  blades  are  the  same  length;  when  they  are 
unequal,  as  is  often  the  case,  the  cylinders  do  not  all  fire  in 
the  same  relative  position  of  the  crank,  and  loss  of  power  and 
irregularity  in  running  are  the  result.  The  wipe  form  of  con- 
tact requires  very  little  attention,  but  it  is  well  to  see  that  the 
brass  segment  is  not  worn  below  the  fiber,  or  there  will  be 
sparking.  The  remedy  is  to  turn  it  up  again  in  the  lathe,  until 
the  brass  is  level  with  the  fiber.  Now  see  that  your  high  -ten- 
sion wires  are  connected  properly  at  the  coil,  and  when  satis- 
fied on  that  point,  take  out  your  plugs  and  lay  them  on  the 
cylinder  cover;  connect  up,  switch  on,  and  turn  them  on  the 
round  by  hand  until  the  trembler  on  the  coil  buzzes.  If  there 
is  much  sparking,  these  contacts  will  have  to  be  filed  up  and 
the  screw  adjusted,  to  give  as  high  a  note  as  possible  with- 
out sticking.  Switch  on  and  off  rapidly,  and  see  the  trembler 
responds  every  time,  and  that  there  is  a  spark  at  the  plug 
simultaneously.  When  you  are  satisfied  on  these  points,  you 
can  replace  the  plugs  and  turn  your  attention  to  the  carbureter. 

Examine  the  Carbureter. 

Carbureters  are  of  so  many  different  patterns  that  it  is  dif- 
ficult, to   prescribe   any  hard-and-fast   rule   for   dealing   with 


136  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

them.  Generally  speaking,  one  should  examine  the  float  to  be 
certain  that  the  gasolene  does  not  get  inside,  and  if  it  has 
been  standing  some  time  immersed  in  the  spirit,  a  shake  will 
determine  if  it  is  empty  or  not ;  then  take  out  the  needle  valve 
and  turn  on  the  gasolene.  It  should  flow  freely  into  the  float 
chamber;  if  not,  clean  out  your  supply  pipe  and  gauzes.  The 
jet  may  be  cleared  with  a  strand  of  copper  wire,  such  as  is 
found  in  your  electrical  outfit,  or  in  the  case  of  the  Longue- 
mare  type,  the  spraying  cone  can  be  removed  and  the  chan- 
nels cleared  with  a  penknife.  Do  not  clean  them  too  vigor- 
ously, or  you  may  remove  some  of  the  metal  and  cause  the 
spray  to  deliver  too  much  gasolene.  It  may  be  advisable  to 
grind  your  needle  valve  with  a  touch  of  knife  polish,  finishing 
with  some  pressure  but  without  emery.  This  should  show  a 
bright  appearance  when  the  cone  of  the  valve  fits  the  seat,  and 
when  the  brightness  extends  all  round  the  valve  will  be  quite 
tight.  In  order  to  keep  the  valve  upright  during  this  process, 
it  is  best  to  put  the  cover  on  the  float  chamber  and  secure 
with  two  or  three  screws. 

The  Change  Speed  Gear. 

By  moving  the  gear-changing  lever  into  the  several  notches 
of  the  quadrant,  you  will  see  whether  the  wheels  are  in  line 
with  one  another,  and  should  they  be  otherwise  there  will  no 
doubt  be  some  form  of  adjustment  by  which  you  can  make 
their  so,  and  perhaps  at  the  same  time  neutralize  to  some 
extent  the  wear  that  has  taken  place  on  the  tooth  sides  by  set- 
ting the  sliding  sleeve  further  over.  This  will  require  some 
thinking  out,  as  in  some  cases  the  speeds  are  divided  up  in 
pairs,  and  the  remedy  for  one  pair  will  be  at  the  expense  of 
the  other. 

In  case  of  three-speed  gear  with  direct  drive  on  top  speed,  the 
second  speed  can  be  set  over  by  deepening  the  recesses  in  the 
positive  clutch  which  locks  the  divided  shaft  together,  but  this 
is  a  last  resort  when  the  gears  are  nearly  at  the  end  of  their 
tether.  The  shafts  should  be  tried  for  wear  in  the  bearings, 
and,  if  considerable,  the  brasses  must  be  taken  up  in  a  similar 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  137 

manner  as  explained  for  the  connecting-rod  brasses;  or,  in 
the  case  of  plain  bushes,  they  should  be  renewed. 

Look  After  the  Chains,  If  Any. 

Chains  should  be  soaked  in  kerosene,  dried,  and  immersed 
in  hot  tallow.  If  considerably  stretched  they  should  be  re- 
newed. It  is  hopeless  to  endeavor  to  remedy  a  stretched  chain 
by  means  of  the  adjusting  rod.  This  is  only  useful  up  to  a 
certain  point,  say  to  the  extent  of  one  link,  but  after  that  link 
has  been  taken  out  the  difference  in  pitch  between  the  chain 
and  the  sprocket  becomes  too  great  for  the  chain  to  run  prop- 
erly, and  it  is  forced  to  ride  up  the  teeth  in  its  endeavor  to 
find  its  proper  pitch  circle.  At  this  stage  it  will  save  much 
trouble  to  invest  in  a  new  pair  of  chains. 

Brakes  and  Bearings. 

Give  your  brakes  some  attention,  and  in  effecting  adjust- 
ments be  careful  to  take  up  equally  on  each  side,  or  the  car 
will  swerve  when  they  are  applied,  but  if  you  have  some  com- 
pensating device  this  precaution  is  unnecessary.  The  wheels 
should  be  separately  jacked  up,  and  if  showing  signs  of  shake 
in  the  bearings  should  be  adjusted,  but  always  leaving  just  a 
trifle  of  play.  The  axle-caps  should  be  filled  with  grease  before 
screwing  on.  By  giving  the  wheel  a  spin,  the  presence  of  a 
broken  ball  may  be  detected,  and,  if  found,  removed,  and  re- 
placed by  one  of  exactly  the  same  size.  If  it  is  impossible  to 
procure  one  which  your  calipers  assure  you  is  the  same  as  the 
others,  it  is  far  better  to  leave  one  out  than  to  put  in  a  larger 
one,  though  a  smaller  one  would  not  so  much  matter.  When 
replacing  the  gear-box,  you  should  adjust  the  countershaft 
brake,  and,  if  necessary,  replace  the  lining  of  the  band. 

Attention  to  Steering  Gear. 

See  that  your  steering  gear  is  all  correct,  and  if  of  the  direct 
type  be  sure  the  pins  on  the  steering  arm,  distance  rod,  and 
divided  axle  are  securely  nutted  and  pinned.  It  may  not  be 
possible  to  adjust  for  wear,  but  if  you  have  worm  and  sector 
or  quick  pitch  thread  and  nut  there  should  be  means  of  ad- 
justment, in  the  first  case  by  setting  the  worm  deeper  in  gear, 


138  'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

and  in  the  second  by  letting  up  the  halves  of  the  nut.  In  any 
case,  it  is  very  desirable  the  car  should  go  exactly  in  the  di- 
rection you  require  it,  and  backlash  on  the  steering  gear  is 
irritating,  to  say  the  least. 

Cleaning  out  the  Water-circulating  System. 

The  water  circulation  can  conveniently  be  inspected  while 
you  are  under  the  car  attending  to  the  steering  gear,  and  if  you 
suspect  anything  faulty,  disconnect  the  several  unions,  and 
wash  through  the  radiators,  pipes,  tanks,  and  cylinder  jackets 
with  the  hose  and  a  good  force  of  water.  An  obstinate  block 
in  a  pipe  will  generally  yield  on  the  application  of  heat. 
Methylated  spirit  (wood  alcohol)  on  a  piece  of  waste  will 
answer  capitally,  but  the  gasolene  tank  should  be  empty,  or 
the  refractory  pipe  removed  to  a  safe  distance  while  this  oper- 
ation is  going  on.  The  same  process  may  be  applied  to  radia- 
tors, with  the  proviso  that  you  do  not  carry  the  heating  far 
enough  to  melt  the  solder.  The  obstruction  will  generally  be 
found  to  consist  of  grease,  or  some  foreign  body  incased  in 
grease.  Boiling  water  may  be  applied  if  you  have  it  handy, 
and  with  the  addition  of  washing  soda  is  excellent  for  tanks. 
Pour  it  in  hot,  and  leave  for  a  few  hours,  and  your  tank  will 
scale  beautifully. 

Accessories  for  the  Tour. 

If  the  readt  r  has  attended  to  all  the  points  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  paragraphs,  and  has  satisfied  himself  that  things  are 
correct,  or,  if  not,  has  made  them  so  according  to  the  instruc- 
tions given,  he  is  at  last  prepared  to  set  out  on  the  projected 
tour.  It  now  behooves  the  would-be  tourist  to  collect  the 
necessary  impedimenta,  which  may  consist  of  the  following 
articles : 

Spare  cover,  which  may  be  wrapped  in  a  strip  or  bag  of 
suitable  material ;  such  bags,  complete  with  straps,  can  be 
bought  of  many  dealers. 

Spare  inner  tubes — two  or  more,  having  regard  to  the  space 
available. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  139 

Repair  outfit,  with  an  ample  store  of  solution,  patches,  and 
canvas. 

A  few  tire  gaiters  or  tire  sleeves.  The  eyeleted  kind  re- 
quire woven  steel  cable,  which  is  damaging  to  the  fingers, 
though  they  can  be  laced  with  rawhide  thongs  instead.  These 
thongs  are  most  useful  things  to  have  in  your  repair  kit,  as  in 
the  event  of  a  burst  they  can  be  used  as  a  gaiter  by  attaching 
one  end  to  a  spoke  and  winding  over  the  rim  and  cover  in 
a  spiral,  and  fixing  the  other  end  to  the  next  spoke.  For  this 
purpose,  you  will  want  long  ones  (6  ft.  or  so),  and  they  should 
be  applied  with  the  tire  deflated ;  the  subsequent  inflating  pulls 
them  tight  on  the  cover,  and  if  they  constrict  the  part  on  which 
they  lie,  to  some  extent,  so  much  the  better — they  will  wear 
all  the  longer.  A  tip  in  putting  gaiters  and  thongs  into  requi- 
sition is  to  start  wrapping  some  inches  behind  the  burst,  when 
this  is  in  contact  with  the  ground,  so  as  to  counteract  the 
creeping  tendency. 

There  are  a  great  many  makes  of  solution  on  the  market — 
some  very  good,  others  indifferent.  One  "special  motor  solu- 
tion" appears  to  be  rubber  dissolved  in  carbon  bisulphid,  and 
has  an  overpowering  odor.  Some  drivers  swear  by  it;  much 
depends  on  the  relative  size  of  the  tire  to  weight  of  car.  The 
experience  of  others  has  been  that  the  rapid  evaporation  of 
the  solvent  produces  condensation  of  atmospheric  moisture  on 
the  surface  of  the  solution,  which  prevents  the  patch  sticking. 
You  may  be  certain  that  if  your  car  is  under-tired  there  will 
be  constant  trouble  with  patches.  Some  have  found  that  a 
canvas  patch  on  the  back  of  the  rubber  patch,  extending  an 
inch  or  so  beyond  it  all  round,  helps  to  keep  it  on,  but  noth- 
ing short  of  vulcanization  will  make  a  sound  job. 

Tools,  etc.,  for  the  Tour. 

These  may  include  a  strong  adjustable  wrench ;  a  set  of 
tube  spanners;  a  small  vise  to  fix  on  mud-guard  or  step;  a 
hack  saw  and  half  a  dozen  blades;  a  set  of  files  (one  lo-inch 
flat  second  cut,  one  half-round,  one  square,  one  round,  and  a 
few  small  warding  files)  ;  a  brace  and  several  sizes  of  drills, 


140  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

also  a  screwdriver  to  fit  brace,  and  one  or  two  center  bits  for 
wood;  a  large  screwdriver;  two  hammers  (one  heavy,  one 
lighter)  ;  a  lifting  jack  to  suit  car  axles;  links  of  chain  and 
connecting  bolt;  a  pair  of  flat-nosed  cutting  pliers;  a  small 
adjustable  wrench ;  a  box  of  assorted  nuts,  bolts,  and  split 
pins ;  assorted  wood  screws ;  copper  wire ;  rubber  hose  for 
pump  connections :  sparking  plugs ;  insulated  wire. 

Experience  will  dictate  a  fairly  complete  outfit,  and,  although 
occupying  a  good  deal  of  room,  such  will  be  worth  taking. 
Having  filled  the  tanks  and  lubricators,  strapped  your  baggage 
in  the  most  convenient  place,  and  donned  your  motoring  gar- 
ments, you  set  out  on  your  adventurous  career. 

Stabling  of  a  Car. 

At  the  end  of  your  first  day's  journey  you  may  elect  to  spend 
the  night  at  some  village  hotel.  The  chances  are  that  you 
may  not  find  much  accommodation  for  the  car,  and  here  a 
sheet  of  waterproof  canvas  or  a  properly-made  car  cover 
comes  in.  The  latter  is  provided  with  cords  for  fastening 
down,  and  is  shaped  roughly  to  the  vehicle,  but  a  plain  sheet 
12  ft.  square  or  12  ft.xi4,  or  16  ft.,  according  to  size  of  car, 
will  do  very  well,  and  only  cost  half  as  much.  Make  fast  all 
round ;  it  will  prevent  the  wind  blowing  it  off,  and  also  tend 
to  preserve  any  little  odds  and  ends  you  may  have  left  lying 
in  the  tonneau  or  elsewhere  from  being  annexed,  or  the  lubri- 
cator from  being  turned  on  by  meddlesome  people.  Before 
starting  in  the  morning  you  will  gauge  your  gasolene  by  dip- 
ping a  clean  stick  or  rod  in  the  tank,  if  an  indicator  is  not 
fitted,  and  estimate  the  mileage  per  gallon  used  on  the  pre- 
Vious  day.  The  oil  reservoir  should  be  examined,  and  per- 
Saps  by  adjusting  the  carbureter  and  oil  feeds  you  can  ob- 
tain better  results.  As  everything  has  just  been  tightened  up, 
it  is  better  to  err  on  the  generous  side  for  the  first  day  or  two 
as  regards  lubrication,  but  if  there  are  indications  of  overdos- 
ing this  will  easily  be  seen  in  looking  over  the  car  while  run- 
ning. Half  an  hour  devoted  to  going  over  the  nuts  and  bolts 
which  you  disturbed  in  your  overhauling  will  be  well  spent. 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  141 

Tire  Repairing. 

Suppose  you  experience  a  curious  bumping  sensation  or 
hear  crackling  sounds  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  offside  driv- 
ing wheel,  and  take  a  cautious  look  back  to  find  the  tire  flat 
as  a  pancake.  On  stopping  the  car,  you  will  be  able  to  tell  by 
the  valve  stem  if  the  tire  has  been  down  long,  for  if  so  it  will 
have  assumed  a  tangential  position,  owing  to  the  creeping  of 
the  inner  tube,  and  then  the  jack  will  be  requisitioned,  as  the 
tube  must  be  taken  out  bodily  for  repairs.  -You  will  probably 
put  in  a  spare  tube,  and  after  dusting  it  with  a  little  French 
chalk,  replace  the  cover,  inflate  the  tire,  and  drive  away.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  you  may  be  able  to  see  the  actual  offender 
sticking  "in  flagrante  delicto"  from  the  cover  in  the  shape  of 
a  horseshoe  nail.  Then  you  will  merely  remove  a  couple  of 
feet  of  cover,  fish  the  tube  out,  and  put  a  patch  on  the  puncture, 
not  forgetting  the  extra  canvas  patch  previously  mentioned. 
Look  out  for  nips  in  replacing  the  piece  of  cover.  The  whole 
repair  is  only  a  matter  of  minutes,  because  you  have  the  advan- 
tage of  knowing  the  exact  location  of  the  trouble. 

Leaking  Patches. 

To  take  another  case  of  deflation,  we  will  suppose  you  can 
find  no  external  evidence  of  puncture,  and  knowing  the  tube 
to  be  patched  you  half  suspect  one  of  the  patches  of  having 
sprung  a  leak.  You  attach  the  tire-pump,  and  gingerly  com- 
mence putting  some  air  in ;  the  tire  begins  to  regain  its  rotund- 
ity. So  it  was  only  a  leaky  valve,  after  all.  Vigorous  strokes 
at  the  pump.  Hark!  a  curious  sibilant  sound.  It's  that 
confounded  patch,  after  all.  Your  ear  will  tell  you  where- 
abouts the  leak  is,  so  only  remove  as  much  of  the  cover  as 
will  enable  you  conveniently  to  attack  the  job.  You  will  very 
likely  find  that,  although  the  air  has  burrowed  a  small  channel 
between  the  patch  and  the  tube  in  one  place,  other  portions 
of  the  patch  are  holding  on  tenaciously.  Why  they  do  not 
stick  all  over  alike  is  what  most  owners  never  can  understand. 
However,  while  you  are  wondering,  the  folks  in  the  tonneau 
are  getting  cross,  so  you  must  get  to  work. 


142  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

Removing  Patches. 

A  drop  of  gasolene  applied  with  care  does  wonders  in  per- 
suading the  patch  to  peel  off,  and  afterwards  in  cleaning  the 
surface  of  the  tube;  but  do  not  apply  the  solution  until  you 
have  well  roughened  the  place  with  glass  paper.  Put  the 
old  patch  away  for  future  use,  and  apply  a  fresh  patch,  two 
coats  of  solution,  spread  on  thinly  and  well  rubbed  in,  espe- 
cially the  first  (you  cannot  rub  the  second  coat  hard,  or  the 
lot  peels  off),  squeeze  the  patch  and  tube  together  as  hard  as 
possible  with  finger  and  thumb,  beginning  in  the  center  of  the 
patch  and  working  out  to  the  edges.  You  may  hold  a  block  of 
wood  under  the  tube  and  beat  the  patch  with  a  hammer,  if 
preferred,  but  go  gently.  Some  men  belabor  their  patches 
unmercifully,  and  say  they  never  come  off;  but  judicious  beat- 
ing is  generally  preferred. 

Treating  a  Burst. 

In  the  case  of  a  burst,  it  is  better  to  remove  the  entire  cover, 
if  you  can  spare  the  time.  Clean  out  the  inside  with  a  piece 
of  rag  damped  with  gasolene,  and,  when  dry,  fix  in  a  piece 
of  thick  canvas  which  is  large  enough  to  go  right  across  and 
lap  over  the  beaded  edge  on  each  side.  While  this  is  drying, 
attend  to  the  tube  as  previously  directed,  and  after  replacing 
the  cover  and  tube,  inflate  the  tube  to  a  slight  degree  and  apply 
the  tire  gaiter.  It  is  quite  easy  to  remove  a  tire  without  the 
aid  of  a  jack  by  rolling  the  wheel  backward  and  forward. 
The  procedure  is  as  follows :  Remove  as  much  of  the  bead  as 
you  can  from  the  side  of  the  wheel  nearest  to  you,  and  then 
take  out  as  much  tube  as  the  circumstances  will  permit ;  then 
roll  the  car  forward  bodily,  and  the  rest  of  the  cover  can  be 
detached  and  the  tube  entirely  taken  out.  After  taking  out  the 
security  bolts,  with  the  tire  lever  you  can  get  the  inside  bead 
over  the  outside  lip  of  the  rim  as  far  as  the  ground,  and  by 
rolling  the  car  backward  a  few  feet  the  cover  will  be  free. 
Replacing  the  Tire. 

In  putting  back  the  cover,  reverse  the  process,  only  taking 
care  the  valve  hole  comes  right  with  the  places  in  the  tire 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  143 

bead  intended  for  the  valve  stem  to  pass  through.  If,  when 
your  first  bead  is  in,  you  find  the  valve  hole  is  not  opposite  the 
gaps,  by  rolling  the  car  forward  or  backward,  as  the  case 
may  be,  you  can  set  up  a  creeping  action  in  the  cover  that  will 
bring  the  hole  and  gap  in  line.  For  instance,  if  the  gap  is  to 
the  right  of  the  hole  when  you  are  repairing  the  right-hand 
tire,  the  car  must  be  wheeled  forward  to  effect  the  purpose. 
Such  a  repair  as  is  indicated  will  not  last  long,  and  the  cover 
will  have  to  be  vulcanized  to  be  efficiently  restored;  but  sup- 
posing you  have  no  spare  cover,  and  do  not  want  to  abandon 
your  tour,  a  fairly  good  job  can  be  made  by  any  saddler  in  the 
town  where  you  stay  for  the  night.  Get  him  to  sew  a  piece  of 
rawhide  inside  the  cover,  bringing  the  stitches  through  to  the 
outside  and  herringboning  over  the  gash  so  as  to  draw  the 
lips  together.  If  you  find  the  canvas  previously  put  in  adheres 
firmly  there  is  no  need  to  take  it  out,  but  sew  through  the  lot. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  knot  each  stitch  separately,  because  in  that 
case  if  one  stitch  give  it  does  not  loosen  the  others.  The  diffi- 
culty is  to  get  anyone  to  take  the  trouble ;  the  remedy  is  to  do 
it  yourself.  When  the  gash  or  burst  was  a  large  one  some 
drivers  have  used  a  tire  gaiter  inside,  first  cutting  off  the  eye- 
leted edges;  but  this  plan  has  the  disadvantage  of  spoiling  a 
gaiter  for  outside  use.  It  is  well  to  put  another  gaiter  outside 
in  addition. 

Supposing  the  burst  is  not  of  a  serious  enough  character 
to  demand  so  much  reinforcement,  you  need  only  stitch  another 
canvas  patch  over  the  rawhide,  which  you  have  sewn  in,  to 
prevent  chafing  on  the  edges  or  threads,  and  the  repair  is  com- 
plete. Properly  done,  this  job  will  last  for  hundreds  of  miles. 
Of  course,  if  the  burst  is  on  or  near  the  tread,  the  outside 
gaiter  or  sleeve  must  be  used  to  protect  the  threads  from 
cutting. 

More  about  Tires. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  sink  the  threads  below  the  surface  of 
the  rubber  carefully  by  cutting  a  slit  joining  the  holes  where 
the  thread  comes  out  and  goes  in  at  every  stitch.  Do  not  cut 
down  into  the  canvas;  you  will  have  to  exercise  judgment  in 


144  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

making  the  incisions.  After  making  the  slit,  pull  the  thread 
tight,  and  the  loop  will  disappear  below  the  surface  of  the  tire. 
The  thread  is  now  protected,  and  has  also  got  a  better  hold  of 
the  canvas. 

If  you  are  a  real  enthusiast  there  will  always  be  plenty  to 
do  in  the  evening  after  you  have  dined — little  adjustments  of 
the  running  gear,  and  perhaps  tire  repairs— iand  provided  with 
an  electric  lamp  you  can  continue  your  labors  after  dark,  so  as 
to  waste  no  time  in  the  morning.  Washing  down  should 
always  be  done  under  your  own  inspection,  or  when  next  you 
essay  to  start  away  the  carbureter  will  be  found  full  ol 
water  or  the  tremblers  submerged.  Before  applying  the  hose, 
look  round  the  tires,  see  that  the  wing  nuts  are  tight,  and 
stop  any  small  cuts  in  the  cover  with  some  stopping  material. 
If  wet  gets  inside  it  will  surely  cause  trouble.  See  the  car 
thoroughly  dried  before  it  is  put  away  for  the  night.  Steer- 
ing joints  are  apt  to  rust  up  unless  protected  with  coverings. 
The  latter  should  be  fitted  to  every  car,  as  they  are  easy  to 
make,  and  save  no  end  of  bother  and  fatigue  from  stiff 
steering. 

Misfiring. 

The  chief  complaint  from  which  engines  suffer  is  the  fault 
of  missing  fire.  A  fruitful  cause  of  irregular  ignition  is  weak- 
ness of  the  accumulator,  so  when  it  occurs  you  will  begin  at 
that  end  of  the  electrical  gear  and  satisfy  yourself  that  all  is 
well  with  the  battery.  Next  have  a  look  at  the  other  end — the 
plugs — and  then  go  over  the  ground  between.  Are  the  contact 
blades  rubbing  firmly  on* the  cam?  Are  the  tremblers  on  the 
coil  vibrating  angrily?  You  will  find  out  by  opening  the  com- 
pression cocks  and  turning  the  engine  slowly.  Suppose  one 
trembler  is  only  fluttering.  You  remove  the  contact  screw 
and  find  it  badly  pitted.  The  rivet  on  the  blade  has  a  minute 
point  fused  on  it,  just  opposite  the  part  of  the  screw  that  has 
become  pitted.  A  few  strokes  of  a  smooth  file,  a  little  adjust- 
ment of  the  contact  screw,  and  you  are  rewarded  with  a  buzz 
that  can  be  heard  some  distance  away.  It  may  be  a  high-ten- 
sion wire  that  has  touched  the  exhaust  pipe  and  lost  its  insula- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  145 

tion,  or  a  low-tension  wire  that  has  chafed  against  a  water 
pipe,  or  a  loose  terminal  on  the  contact  breaker.  Sometimes  the 
earth  return  wire  gets  broken  where  it  is  fastened  to  engine 
or  frame,  and  then  the  misfiring  will  occur  intermittently, 
first  in  one  cylinder  and  then  in  the  other,  leading  you  a 
pretty  dance  until  you  stumble  on  the  cause.  A  wipe  contact 
should  have  ample  means  of  return.  The  film  of  oil  on  the 
bearings  of  the  second  speed  shaft  and  the  other  resistances 
between  the  little  brass  inset  and  the  frame  of  the  car  are 
almost  certain  to  interfere  with  a  free  return,  so  it  is  better 
to  provide  some  other  means  of  return,  such  as  a  wire  attached 
to  the  plate  on  which  the  blades  are  mounted  and  connected 
to  a  nut  on  the  engine  or  frame.  A  good  plan  is  to  fix  a  sup- 
plementary blade  to  rub  on  the  center  of  the  fiber  cam  so  as 
to  make  contact  on  the  shaft  on  which  the  cam  is  fixed,  and 
ground  the  wire  from  this  blade. 

Examine  the  Carbureter. 

If  you  are  sure  the  ignition  is  all  right  and  the  missing  still 
persists,  suspect  the  carbureter.  A  partly  blocked  gasolene 
pipe  will  produce  the  symptoms,  so  remove  the  nut  which 
connects  the  gasolene  pipe,  with  carbureter,  and  try  blowing 
back  into  the  tank  with  the  tire  pump.  This  is  the  rough  and 
ready  method.  If  it  fails,  disconnect  the  pipe  altogether,  and 
see  if  it  is  clear.  The  pump  will  clear  it  if  you  can  make  a 
joint  of  some  sort,  either  by  removing  the  valve  connection  or 
using  a  bit  of  rubber  tube,  or  even  wrapping  a  piece  of  rubber 
strip  round  and  wiring  it  in  place.  The  obstruction  may  be 
in  the  narrow  orifice  below  the  needle  valve ;  you  can  find  out 
by  dismantling  the  carbureter.  There  may  be  a  particle  of  dirt 
in  the  spray  nozzle,  which  gets  carried  up  occasionally  to  the 
tiny  hole  that  delivers  the  gasolene  jet,  and  occasionally  drops 
back  to  the  bottom  of  the  passage.  Clean  the  jet  out  thor- 
oughly and  wash  through  the  passages  with  gasolene,  when  no 
further  trouble  should  be  experienced  on  the  road. 


to 


146  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


PART  X. 
LAYING  UP  A  CAR. 

Laying  Up  a  Car — When  a  car  is  to  be  laid  up  for  any 
length  of  time  care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  it  is  first  prop- 
erly prepared  by  a  special  course  of  treatment. 

The  first  care  should  be  to  see  that  the  engine  is  thoroughly 
cleaned  in  the  manner  prescribed  under  Care  and  Maintenance, 
in  one  of  the  preceding  chapters.  Any  repairs  and  adjust- 
ments that  appear  necessary  can  profitably  be  made  at  this 
time  so  that  the  car  will  come  out  in  good  shape  after  its 
period  of  rest  or  storage.  Always  remember  that  one  cannot 
expect  a  car  to  come  out  in  good  running  order  unless  it  is  in 
fit  condition  when  laid  away. 

Transmission  Gear. 

The  change  speed  gear  should  be  washed  out  with  kerosene 
in  a  similar  manner  to  the  engine.  If  the  car  is  a  direct  driven 
one,  the  bevel  gear  case  should  be  filled  with  grease,  there 
being  no  necessity  to  clear  this  out,  though  it  would  do  no 
harm  if  it  were  washed  out  with  kerosene  and  fresh  grease 
put  in.  The  change  speed  gear  box  lid  should  be  removed,  or 
probably  in  many  instances  it  would  be  better  to  remove  the 
top  half  of  the  gear  box  completely  so  as  to  expose  the  gear 
wheels  contained  therein,  for  inspection  purposes.  The  gear- 
shafts  should  be  felt  for  slackness,  and  if  any  motion  except 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  147 

a  slight  movement  endwise  is  noticed,  they  had  better  be  seen 
to  at  once  by  the  repair  man.  If  the  gears  are  found  to  be  in 
good  order  and  require  no  attention,  the  gear-box  should  be 
filled  up  to  the  under  side  of  the  gearshaft  with  gear-box  oil 
or  lubricating  oil  and  grease,  about  one-third  of  the  latter  to 
two-thirds  of  the  former. 

Connections  and  Chains. 

All  the  pins,  joints,  and  connections  should  be  well  oiled ;  in 
fact,  it  would  be  better  to  remove  these,  cleaning  them  thor- 
oughly and  replacing  them,  having  previously  given  them  a 
good  coating  of  vaseline.  The  wheels  should  be  jacked  up 
and  removed  from  their  axles,,  these  and  the  axle-boxes  being 
cleaned  out  and  well  greased  before  replacing.  When  going 
round  the  car,  attention  should  be  given  to  the  anchored  ends 
of  the  springs,  and  the  shackles  on  the  free  ends  of  these  should 
also  be  well  greased.  These  are  some  of  the  points  which  are 
particularly  liable  to  be  overlooked  when  going  through  the 
process  of  overhauling  and  cleaning.  Where  chain  drive  is 
employed,  the  chains  should  be  removed  from  the  sprockets 
and  well  cleaned  in  kerosene,  after  which  they  should  be  im- 
mersed in  melted  tallow  and  allowed  to  remain  in  this  for 
several  hours.  Remove  the  chains,  and  hang  them  up  to  allow 
the  superfluous  grease  to  drain  off. 

The  Clutch. 

Special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  clutch.  This  should 
be  withdrawn  as  far  as  possible,  and  its  surface  well  cleaned 
with  gasolene,  after  which  it  should  be  given  a  good  coating 
of  neatsfoot  or  castor  oil.  Some  have  used  successfully  a  mix- 
ture of  one-half  castor  oil  to  one-half  of  glycerine.  It  is  well 
to  note  that  the  application  of  clutch  dressings  is  useless  unless 
the  clutch  leather,  where  used,  is  in  a  condition  to  absorb  some 
portion  of  the  dressing  applied.  Thus  it  happens  that  a  slip- 
ping clutch  will  soon  attain  so  hard  a  surface  that  it  cannot 
take  up  any  of  the  moisture  it  needs  so  badly  when  any  dress- 
ing is  applied.  An  application  of  gasolene — assisted  by  a  hard 
brush — will  bring  the  clutch  leather  to  a  state  in  which  it  may 


148  'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

be  successfully  treated.  Look  to  the  adjustment  that  it  does 
not  slip  or  grip  too  tightly.  If  the  clutch  be  interconnected 
with  the  side  brakes,  pay  particular  attention  to  the  adjust- 
ment here,  as  it  requires  very  careful  checking  to  act  prop- 
erly. 

The  Protection  of  Exposed  Metallic  Parts. 

After  having  attended  to  the  engine  and  gearing,  the  next 
thing  is  carefully  to  go  over  all  the  metallic  parts  of  the  frame 
and  of  the  connecting  rods  used  in  conjunction  with  the  steer- 
ing gear,  change  speed  gear,  and  the  brakes.  Where  the  paint 
has  been  scratched  or  barked  sufficiently  to  expose  the  metal, 
this  should  be  rubbed  bright  with  a  piece  of  emery  cloth,  and 
paint  or  air-drying  enamel  applied,  giving  it  at  least  two  coats 
of  either.  All  plated  or  polished  parts  should  be  given  a  coat- 
ing of  pure  vaseline  after  they  have  been  thoroughly  cleaned 
and  polished.  Pure  vaseline,  as  obtained  from  the  druggist, 
is  specified  as  distinct  from  the  commercial  article,  which  is 
not  so  pure,  containing  as  it  does  salts  which  are  injurious  to 
nickel  or  silver-plated  parts,  whereas  the  refined  vaseline  has 
no  effect  upon  them.  In  the  course  of  a  few  runs  the  greased 
bright  parts  will  collect  a  certain  amount  of  dirt,  which,  if 
necessary,  should  be  very  carefully  removed  with  a  piece  of 
rag  soaked  in  kerosene.  The  dirt  should  be  scraped  rather  than 
rubbed  off,  as  the  rubbing  is  liable  to  cause  scratches.  A  long, 
slow  sweeping  stroke  of  the  kerosene  rag  takes  up  the  dirt 
without  using  it  as  an  abrasive  material.  This  is  a  very  im- 
portant point,  for  scratched  brass  or  plated  work  looks  ex- 
tremely bad.  If  the  mud  of  many  months  be  allowed  to  accu- 
mulate over  the  vaseline,  it  will  do  no  harm,  for  it  bears  the 
same  relation  to  the  grease  surfaces  as  the  hair  of  a  rabbit 
skin ;  you  cannot  remove  the  one  without  the  other. 

Lubricators. 

All  the  lubricators  should  be  drained  of  any  oil  which  they 
may  contain,  and  should  be  thoroughly  washed  out  with  kero- 
sene or  stale  gasolene.  Where  sight-feed  lubricators  are  fitted, 
or  types  which  necessitate  the  using  of  lengths  of  copper  pipe 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  149 

to  convey  the  lubricant  from  its  receptacle  to  the  bearings, 
such  pipes  should  be  removed,  and  should  have  kerosene 
passed  through  them.  For  this  purpose,  a  syringe  is  the  best 
instrument  to  use,  as  the  cleansing  fluid  can  be  passed  through 
the  tubes  at  a  pressure  which  will  insure  any  obstruction 
caused  by  the  congealing  of  the  oil,  or  by  other  causes,  being 
swept  away.  If  this  is  done  and  the  pipes  are  reconnected, 
when  the  car  is  taken  out  again  one  will  know  that  all  that  is 
necessary  for  good  working  of  those  parts  is  a  fresh  supply 
of  lubricating  oil. 

Tire  Treatment. 

We  now  come  to  the  question  of  tire  treatment,  and  here  it 
is  somewhat  difficult  to  advise,  for  there  are  variations  in  each 
and  every  make  of  tire.  That  is  to  say,  there  are  some  tires  of 
one  make  which  wear  very  much  better  than  others,  and  these 
are  always  worth  retreading  if  the  fabric  is  good ;  others  there 
are  in  which  slices  of  rubber  come  away  from  the  fabric  whole- 
sale, leaving  it  to  be  attacked  by  wet,  and  thereby  ruining  it 
for  retreading  purposes.  The  question  as  to  when  a  tire  needs 
repairing  is  one  of  sympathetic  judgment.  We  have  seen  men 
cheerfully  running  tires  upon  whose  treads  there  was  scarcely 
an  ounce  of  rubber  left,  and  yet  they  talked  of  having  them 
retreaded  "when  the  rubber  was  all  gone."  Directly  a  bad  cut 
in  the  rubber  is  observed,  a  rule  should  be  made  of  having  it 
attended  to  at  the  first  opportunity.  The  cut  should  be  washed 
out  with  water  to  remove  dirt,  and  then  carefully  dried. 
Gasolene  should  then  be  wiped  or  brushed  into  the  cut  to 
further  clean  the  surfaces  and  prepare  them  for  the  coating  of 
rubber  solution,  which  should  be  next  applied.  After  the  solu- 
tion has  been  left  for  about  ten  minutes  or  a  little  more,  the 
cut  may  be  filled  up  with  one  of  the  many  preparations  which 
are  now  sold  for  the  purpose.  Failure  in  a  repair  is  invariably 
traceable  to  insufficient  cleansing  or  experimental  treatment. 
Any  cuts  which  are  found  in  the  covers  should  be  dealt  with 
on  the  lines  indicated  above.  If  one  has  any  suspicion  that 
any  particular  tire  is  in  such  condition  that  it  may  at  any  time 
become  a  "lame  duck,"  have  it  off;  it  saves  hours  (possibly 


150  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

on  the  roadside)  at  a  later  date.  This  is  also  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  repair  any  punctured  inner  tubes  which  may  be  on 
hand.  For  this  purpose  there  are  handy  vulcanizers  to  be 
obtained  if  one  wishes  to  do  the  work  oneself. 

Laying  up  for  the  Winter. 

Having  now  indicated  the  general  lines  of  treatment  to 
pursue  in  preparing  a  car  for  winter  use,  we  must  consider  the 
owner  who,  for  special  reasons,  is  compelled  to  lay  up  his  car 
during  the  wThole  of  the  winter.  The  car  to  be  laid  up  should 
be  treated  on  the  general  lines  already  laid  down,  but  some 
further  attention  is  also  necessary.  When  the  car  is  brought 
in  after  its  final  run,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  remove 
the  cushions,  aprons,  lamps,  horn,  and  all  the  tools  and  spare 
parts.  The  battery  should  be  taken  from  its  box,  and  it  would 
be  advisable  to  remove  the  coil  and  all  the  wires  connected 
with  the  electrical  ignition  apparatus.  When  doing  this,  a 
rough  sketch  should  be  made  showing  the  method  of  wiring, 
as  when  these  parts  have  to  be  replaced  it  is  as  well  to  have  a 
definite  guide  at  hand,  for  in  the  interval  between  the  putting 
away  and  bringing  out  the  car  it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the 
world  to  forget  the  terminals  to  which  particular  wires  should 
be  connected. 

Care  of  the  Engine. 

As  to  the  engine,  some  additional  attention  is  needed,  par- 
ticularly with  regard  to  the  interior  of  the  cylinders.  These 
should  be  well  washed  out  with  kerosene  followed  by  a  little 
gasolene.  This  treatment  dissolves  any  oil  which  may  be  on 
the  cylinder  walls  or  piston,  and  which  may  cause  them  to 
stick,  and  it  prevents  the  oxidation  of  the  oil  if  it  is  allowed  to 
remain.  As  to  painting  the  engine  over,  which  is  often  advis- 
able, some  owners  inquire  if  it  will  be  necessary  to  clean  off 
the  paint  before  running  the  engine  again,  and  if  so,  they 
strongly  object  to  following  this  course.  It  would  of  course, 
be  necessary  to  remove  the  protecting  coating,  otherwise  when 
the  engine  began  to  get  warm  with  running  the  paint  Avould 
make  itself  particularly  disagreeable.  There  is  not  much  dif- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  151 

ficulty  in  removing  such  a  covering  if  olive  oil  be  used,  as  the 
olive  oil  never  sets  hard,  and  is  therefore  readily  attacked  by 
turpentine  or  gasolene.  If  the  engine  is  not  so  covered,  it 
may  present  a  lamentable  spectacle  after  a  few  weeks'  stand- 
ing. If  not  painted  the  engine  should  receive  a  coating  of 
vaseline.  Particular  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  exposed 
portions  of  the  valve  stems,  as  should  they  become  at  all 
rusty,  they  are  liable  to  stick  in  their  guides  and  cause  trouble. 
These  should  in  any  case  be  well  coated  with  vaseline.  As 
to  the  remainder  of  the  car,  it  should  be  treated  on  the  lines 
already  laid  down,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  which  we  will 
proceed  to  deal  with. 

Battery  Treatment. 

The  battery,  when  battery  ignition  is  used,  forms  the  prin- 
cipal object  for  attention  among  those  parts  which  have  been 
removed  from  a  car,  and  great  care  will  have  to  be  taken  with 
this  for  its  proper  preservation.  It  should  be  tested,  and  if 
found  to  be  below  its  full  voltage  it  should  be  recharged  until 
this  voltage  is  attained.  The  acid  should  now  be  poured  out 
from  the  cells  of  a  wet  battery,  which  should  be  washed  out 
with  clean  rain  water  two  or  three  times  so  as  to  remove  all 
the  acid,  and  they  should  afterwards  be  filled  up  with  pure 
clean  rain  water  to  a  point  the  height  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
above  the  top  of  the  plates.  The  rubber  stoppers  should  now 
be  replaced.  While  washing  out  the  cells,  the  terminals  also 
should  be  carefully  washed  to  free  them  from  all  traces  of 
acid.  They  should  be  wiped  dry,  and  given  a  coat  of  pure 
vaseline  as  a  further  protection  against  their  corrosion. 

As  many  cells  are  filled  with  a  semi-solid  electrolyte,  it 
is  impossible  to  subject  such  to  the  above  treatment,  and  as 
the  acid  cannot  be  removed  from  the  cell,  there  is  only  one 
course  of  satisfactory  treatment  open,  and  that  is  to  have  the 
batteries  recharged  every  six  weeks  at  least.  In  the  mean- 
time, a  small  four-volt  lamp  should  be  connected  in  the  circuit, 
and  should  occasionally  be  allowed  to  remain  lighted  for  a 
period  of,  say,  half  an  hour,  so  as  to  enable  the  battery  to 
discharge  itself  to  a  slight  extent.  This  helps  to  keep  the 


152  'A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

plates    in   much   better    order   than   the    mere    recharging   at 
stated  intervals  without  any  discharge  having  taken  place. 

Dry  batteries  can  be  dismissed  in  a  few  words.  As  nothing 
can  be  done  to  assist  them  in  retaining  their  energy,  it  is  as 
well  to  take  advantage,  if  possible,  of  what  current  they  are 
still  capable  of  giving  off.  The  cells  may  be  used  to  energize 
electric  bells,  or  they  may  be  used  for  a  glow  lamp  or  some 
such  purpose. 

The  Coil. 

The  induction  coil  requires  but  little  attention.  It  should 
be  put  away  in  a  dry  place,  and  out  of  all  danger  of  being 
subjected  to  high  temperatures.  For  instance,  it  should  not 
be  put  in  a  cupboard  against  that  side  of  the  wall  where  the 
chimney  is  likely  to  give  off  more  than  a  medium  temperature. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  only  requirements  are  to  protect 
the  coil  from  damp  and  from  excessive  heat.  The  reason  for 
this  is  that  paraffin  wax  is  often  used  as  an  insulating  material, 
and  if  this  substance  becomes  sufficiently  heated  to  melt,  in 
many  coils  the  insulation  would  be  entirely  broken  down, 
on  account  of  there  not  being  sufficient  non-conducting  ma- 
terial on  the  wires.  So  that  if  this  were  to  happen  such  coils 
would  be  absolutely  ruined.  Obviously,  therefore,  cold,  so 
long  as  the  atmosphere  is  dry,  does  not  injuriously  affect  the 
coil. 

Laying  up  Tires. 

The  tires  need  very  special  attention.  They  should  be  re- 
moved from  the  wheels,  the  air  tubes  carefully  examined  and 
tested,  and  if  found  to  be  in  good  condition  they  should  be 
treated  with  a  liberal  supply  of  French  chalk,  and  put  into  a 
bag  or  box,  and  stowed  away,  preferably  in  a  dark  room 
where  an  even  medium  temperature  obtains.  The  covers 
themselves  should  be  very  carefully  examined,  and  all  cuts, 
whether  large  or  small,  should  be  treated  in  the  manner  al- 
ready described.  If  this  is  not  to  the  liking  or  beyond  the 
capabilities  of  the  owner,  the  tires  might  be  sent  to  the  man- 
ufacturers for  general  overhauling  and  repairs.  This  would 
really  be  the  most  satisfactory  procedure.  For  the  storage 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  153 

of  the  outer  covers  of  the  tires,  the  same  conditions  apply  to 
the  inner  tubes.  As  their  bulk  is  much  greater  than  that  of 
the  inner  tubes,  the  most  handy  method  of  protecting  them 
for  storage  is  to  bandage  them  round  with  strips  of  canvas. 
An  owner  once  had  occasion  to  lay  by  a  set  of  motor  car  tires* 
and  instead  of  using  French  chalk  for  the  outer  covers,  he  used 
flowers  of  sulphur  in  a  very  liberal  manner.  After  the  tires 
had  lain  by  for  some  four  months  or  so,  they  were  brought 
out,  and  looked  as  fresh  and  as  good  as  ever.  Not  only  so, 
but  they  showed  no  signs  whatever  of  hardening  or  cracking, 
and  retained  their  elasticity  to  the  fullest  degree.  This  was 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  sulphur  is  the  principal  com- 
ponent used  in  the  vulcanization  of  indiarubber.  It  is  notice- 
able, as  a  general  rule,  that  in  the  course  of  time  the  sulphur 
exudes  from  the  rubber,  leaving  it  in  a  very  spongy  form, 
thus  allowing  air  to  enter.  This  hardens  the  material,  so  that 
it  eventually  breaks  up  into  small  patches.  The  owner  afore- 
said tried  the  sulphur,  therefore,  as  a  matter  of  experiment, 
on  the  theory  that  sulphur  thus  applied  to  the  outside  of  the 
covers  would  prevent  that  which  was  contained  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  rubber  itself  from  working  out.  He  was  pleased 
to  note  that  his  theory  was  borne  out  by  practice.  If  it  is  not 
convenient  to  remove  the  tires  from  the  wheels,  the  car  should 
be  jacked  up  and  packing  put  underneath  the  axles,  so  that  the 
wheels  may  be  kept  well  off  the  ground. 

Lamps. 

Lamps,  whether  of  the  oil  or  acetylene  type,  should  be 
thoroughly  well  cleaned  and  polished,  wrapped  in  cloths,  and 
stored  in  a  dry  place.  Particular  care  should  be  taken  to 
cleanse  thoroughly  the  carbide  container  of  acetylene  lamps 
of  all  deposit,  and  to  dry  the  interior  of  the  vessel  carefully 
before  putting  it  away.  If  any  carbide  is  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  container  for  any  length  of  time  it  will  form  such  a 
hard  and  solid  mass  as  to  endanger  the  container  when  it  is 
removed  by  forcible  means  at  a  later  stage.  All  oil  and  wicks 
should  be  removed  from  the  vessels  of  oil  lamps,  and  as  a 


154  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

further  precaution  against  the  action  of  stale  oil  at  a  later 
period,  they  may  be  washed  with  a  strong  solution  of  hot 
soda  and  water,  afterwards  being  carefully  wiped  out,  or  if  a 
cloth  cannot  be  inserted  into  the  oil  well,  they  should  be  dried 
by  evaporation. 

The  horn  which  should  have  been  removed  at  the  same  time 
as  the  aforementioned  parts,  should  be  cleaned  and  put  away 
with  the  lamps. 

A  Covering  for  the  Car. 

Having  now  taken  all  the  needful  precautions  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  car  in  detail,  we  next  have  to  consider  the 
vehicle  as  a  whole.  Even  in  the  very  best  of  garages,  it  is  well 
to  cover  the  whole  of  the  vehicle,  including  the  bonnet,  with  a 
light  sheet,  the  edges  of  which  are  provided  with  tapes  to 
enable  it  to  be  tied  down  into  position  over  the  car.  Such 
vehicles  as  are  provided  with  hoods  or  canopies  present  some 
little  difficulty  in  this  wray,  owing  to  the  immense  size  of  sheet 
which  would  be  required  to  cover  the  car  as  a  whole.  Except 
for  the  really  efficient  protection  of  such  cars  as  are  so  fitted, 
two  sheets  would  be  necessary,  one  of  which  would  cover  the 
body  completely,  slots  being  cut  in  the  edges  of  this  sheet 
at  suitable  points,  so  that  the  rods  supporting  the  canopy 
would  not  interfere  with  the  complete  protection  of  the  car- 
riage body.  If  it  is  thought  absolutely  necessary  to  protect 
the  canopy  by  reason  of  its  being  fitted  writh  expensive  cur- 
tains, a  second  sheet  should  be  thrown  over  this,  allowing  it 
to  hang  down  to  a  sufficient  extent  to  meet  the  sheet  which  is 
placed  over  the  car.  Leather  hoods  should  not  be  allowed  to 
remain  for  any  long  period  in  a  folded-up  position,  for  how- 
ever good  the  leather  may  be,  and  whatever  means  are  taken 
to  provide  for  its  protection  and  the  retention  of  its  supple- 
ness, it  will  dry  and  crack  where  sharp  bends  occur  in  it. 
For  this  reason  it  is  well,  if  possible,  to  let  the  hood  remain 
open  during  such  time  as  the  car  is  standing  in  the  garage. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  155 


PART  XI. 

GASOLENE— ITS  PROPERTIES  AND  ECONOMICAL 

USE. 

Economy  in  consumption  of  fuel  in  any  kind  of  engine  con- 
sists in  using  just  enough  fuel  for  the  purpose,  and  also,  where 
the  fuel  is  a  combination  of  different  elements,  in  using  these 
elements  combined  in  the  cheapest  way  where  one  is  of  higher 
value  than  the  other.  It  will  pay  the  motorist  to  study  out 
the  proper  proportions  of  gasolene  to  air.  A  great  deal 
more  air  is  required  than  gasolene.  It  has  been  found  that  a 
gas  mixture  in  which  there  is  too  much  gasolene  not  only 
reduces  the  power  of  the  engine,  but  sets  up  internal  troubles 
due  to  sooting  up  and  overheating,  so  that  if  the  proportion 
of  air  is  too  small,  an  extravagant  proportion  of  the  substance 
which  has  to  be  purchased  is  perforce  being  employed,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  engine  efficiency  is  decreased  and  its 
mechanism  injured. 

This  shows  that  the  great  and  most  important  point  as  re- 
gards economy  in  consumption  of  gasolene  is  the  proper  de- 
signing and  functioning  of  the  carbureter.  At  present, 
fortunately,  the  manufacturers'  attention  is  being  drawn  to 
correct  design  so  as  to  obtain  always  a  constant  mixture,  and 
also  a  mixture  as  efficient  as  possible.  Generally  speaking,  the 
driver  errs  on  the  side  of  giving  too  much  gasolene  rather  than 
too  much  air. 

Another  consideration  is  the  speed  of  the  engine.  An  en- 
gine will  give  out  its  greatest  efficiency,  that  is  to  say,  the 
heat  units  of  fuel  consumed  will  be  least  in  proportion  to  the 
work  done  when  the  engine  is  running  at  the  speed  at  which 


156  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

it  was  designed  to  run.  If  it  runs  faster  than  this,  it  will  be 
extravagant ;  if  it  runs  slower  it  will  require  a  richer  mixture, 
and,  therefore,  a  larger  proportion  of  gasolene  to  air,  and  so  in 
this  instance  also  economical  methods  are  not  achieved.  It  is, 
therefore,  advisable  to  run  the  engine  as  nearly  as  possible  at 
a  constant  speed.  In  the  case  of  an  internal  combustion  en- 
gine as  used  on  motor  vehicles,  however,  this  is  practically 
impossible,  but  is  approximated  by  means  of  the  change  speed 
gear. 

The  greatest  economy  in  fuel  can  only  be  obtained  by  very 
careful  driving  and  a  thorough  understanding  of  what  is  going 
on  in  the  engine  under  varying  circumstances.  For  this  rea- 
son the  reader  should  refer  to  the  article  on  Driving,  in  which 
the  manipulation  of  the  control  levers  as  regards  air  and  throt- 
tle— in  order  to  secure  efficiency — is  fully  dealt  with.  He 
must  bear  in  mind  that  the  best  results  as  regards  speed  and 
power  obtained,  and  reduction  in  wear  and  tear  of  engine, 
will  be  achieved  by  practising  economy ;  in  other  words,  if  he 
tries  to  force  the  engine  by  giving  it  a  rich  charge,  he  will  not 
only  fail  to  obtain  the  required  result,  but  overheating,  car- 
bonizing, knocking,  preignition,  and  many  other  troubles  will 
soon  make  their  presence  evident. 

Economy  of  gasolene,  as  it  is  generally  understood  by  the 
automobilist,  refers  to  economy  in  covering  a  certain  distance. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  in  reliability  trials  the  gasolene  con- 
sumption is  reckoned  in  ton  miles,  the  speed  being  considered 
fairly  constant  for  the  car— that  is,  a  speed  of  something  about 
twenty  miles  per  hour.  Of  course,  the  automobilist  who  aver- 
ages over  this  speed  will  find  that  the  consumption  increases 
because  the  wind  resistance,  and,  therefore,  the  power  re- 
quired to  propel  the  vehicle  on  an  even  surface,  increases  as 
the  square  of  the  velocity. 

This  ton  mileage  method  of  arriving  at  economy  also  leaves 
out  of  consideration  the  nature  of  the  roads  and  other  re- 
sistances offered  to  the  movement  of  the  car,  so  that  the 
economy  will  be  affected  adversely  if  excessively  bad  roads 
or  heavy  head  winds  are  met  with,  or  if  the  speed  is  high. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  157 

This  method  of  regarding  the  subject  precludes  the  fact  that 
all  these  conditions  make  the  engine  do  more  work.  Thus,  if 
the  engine  is  to  be  run  economically,  the  driver  must  look  to 
what  is  taking  place  in  the  engine  and  car  itself.  It  is  ob- 
vious that  he  cannot  level  out  hills  or  smooth  out  roads  or 
prevent  head  winds;  it  is  also  obvious  that  he  can  make  the 
work  which  is  actually  done  in  the  engine  and  car  itself  as 
small  as  possible,  so  that  it  is  clear  .that  economy  will  be  af- 
fected if  the  engine  is  not  in  thorough  working  order. 

Loss  of  compression  will  affect  the  power  of  the  engine,  but 
at  the  same  time  the  engine  will  be  using  as  much  fuel,  the 
result  being  that  it  will  not  propel  the  car  the  same  distance, 
or  against  the  same  resistance,  as  it  would  if  it  were  in  proper 
working  order,  and  thus  economy  in  actual  results  is  lost.  In 
the  same  way  the  transmission  mechanism  (which  includes 
the  whole  of  the  construction  of  the  car  which  transmits  the 
power  from  the  engine  to  the  road  wheels),  if  it  is  not  in 
proper  order,  will  affect  economy  because  it  will  absorb  power, 
so  that  to  perform  the  same  amount  of  work  as  regards  mov- 
ing the  car  the  engine  will  have  to  use  more  fuel. 

The  quality  of  the  fuel  used  also  bears  on  the  question,  al- 
though nowadays,  with  improved  carbureters  and  a  more  uni- 
form standard  of  specific  gravity  for  gasolene,  the  condition 
of  the  fuel  does  not  count  for  so  much  as  it  did  in  the  old  days. 
Another  considerable  loss  of  economy  arises  if  the  gas  charge 
is  not  ignited  and  expanded  at  the  proper  moment ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  full  length  of  the  working  stroke  of  the  piston  should 
be  taken  advantage  of.  It  is  obvious  that  if  ignition  of  the 
gas  charge  is  delayed  until  after  the  piston  has  commenced  to 
descend  on  what  should  be  the  power  stroke,  a  great  deal  of 
its  efficiency  will  be  lost  as  regards  the  pressure  exerted  on 
the  piston. 

When  the  density  of  gasolene  has  reached  a  point  which 
interferes  with  its  free  evaporation  it  is  called  "stale"  gaso- 
lene. It  then  makes  an  imperfect  mixture  for  motor-car  en- 
gines, but  is  useful  for  removing  grease  and  dirt  from  metal 
parts  of  the  car. 


158  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

Gasolene  is  a  light,  volatile,  colorless  liquid  commonly  ob- 
tained by  the  distillation  of  petroleum  and  forming  one  of  the 
series  of  hydrocarbons  for  motor  cars.  Much  used  as  a  fuel 
in  internal  combustion  engines.  Motor  spirit  is  usually  called 
"Petrol"  in  the  British  Isles,  "Essence"  in  France  (short  for 
"Essence  de  petrole"),  "Benzin"  in  Germany,  "Benzina"  in 
Italy,  etc. 

When  the  crude  petroleum,  as  drawn  from  the  wells,  is 
placed  in  a  closed  vessel  and  heated,  the  most  volatile  parts 
evaporate  first.  This  vapor  is  caught  and  cooled  (the  com- 
bination of  the  boiler  and  condensing  apparatus  constitute  a 
still),  and  the  liquids  which  settle  in  the  condenser  come  over, 
and  have  a  specific  gravity  varying  from  0.629  to  0.667  m  tne 
case  of  gasolene ;  to  0.802  for  kerosene,  and  0.875  for  lubricat- 
ing oils.  Other  petroleum  products  include  cymogene,  sp.  gr. 
0.588,  naphtha,  benzine,  etc. 

Gasolene  is  the  first  distillation  before  kerosene,  that  is, 
gasolene  is  a  mixture  of  petroleum  ether  and  benzoline.  Chem- 
ically speaking,  it  consists  to  the  extent  of  75  per  cent,  or  more, 
of  methanes  with  some  heptanes.  The  remainder  is  ethenes 
with  traces  of  benzines. 

Benzine  is  the  unfortunate  commercial  name  given  to  "A" 
naphtha,  which  tends  to  confusion  with  another  substance 
which  is  a  coal-tar  product. 

In  ordering  gasolene  in  Europe  the  scale  often  used  for  in- 
dicating the  density  is  that  of  Beaume.  Zero  on  this  scale 
corresponds  to  the  density  of  a  solution  of  salt  of  specified 
proportions,  and  ten  degrees  corresponds  to  the  density 
of  distilled  water  at  a  specified  temperature  or  to  a  spe- 
cific gravity  of  unity.  The  portion  of  the  stem  of  the  in- 
strument lying  between  these  two  points  is  divided  into  ten 
equal  parts,  and  the  rest  of  the  stem  is  divided  into  divisions 
of  equal  size  up  to  ninety  degrees.  Higher  numbers  indicate 
lower  specific  gravities — a  rather  confused  arrangement. 

The  actual  instrument  used  is  a  densimeter  or  hydrometer. 

The  specific  gravity  of  what  is  sometimes  called  .680  gaso- 
lene varies  with  temperature,  but  is  supposed  to  be  measured 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  159 

at  60° Fahrenheit.    It  is  .667  at  87°F.,  and  .693  at  the  freezing 
point,  32  °F. 

Vaporization  Experiments — The  vaporization  of  gasolene 
requires  a  surface  per  H.P.  of  221  square  centimeters,  heated  to 
about  82°  C,  the  pressure  of  the  vapor  mixture  being  760  milli- 
meters of  mercury.  The  gasolene  must  fall  on  the  surface  drop 
by  drop.  In  the  case  of  spraying  carbureters,  the  velocity  of  the 
air  must  be  25  meters  per  second;  the  vaporization  surface  can 
thus  be  less  than  221  square  centimeters.  The  vapor  diffuses 
in  air  with  a  velocity  of  5  millimeters  per  second.  Knowing 
the  speed  of  the  suction,  it  is  easy  to  calculate  the  openings 
in  the  gauze  required  and  the  length  of  suction  pipe  in  order 
that  the  gasolene  vapor  may  have  time  to  completely  penetrate 
the  air  before  it  is  admitted  to  the  cylinder.  The  vaporization 
of  kerosene  requires  a  surface  of  200  square  centimeters  per 
H.P.  heated  to  a  temperature  of  220°  C.,  the  pressure  being  760 
millimeters  of  mercury. 

GASOLENE   HINTS  AND  TIPS. 

A  Cheap  Gasolene  Gauge. 

A  very  efficient  and  cheap  form  of  gasolene  gauge  can  be 
fashioned  from  a  sufficient  length  of  ground-glass  rod,  which 
should  be  fairly  stout.  Run  your  car  on  to  a  level  place,  empty 
your  tank  and  then  measure  the  gasolene  back  therein,  gallon 
by  gallon.  After  the  introduction  of  each  gallon  sound  the 
tank  with  the  ground-glass  rod  and  the  height  of  the  spirit 
therein  will  be  plainly  visible  on  the  rod.  Mark  the  height  of 
each  successive  gallon  on  the  rod  with  the  edge  of  a  sharp  file, 
and,  the  rod  being  kept  in  a  leather  clip  handy  to  the  tank, 
you  will  have  a  ready  means  of  determining  how  much  gaso- 
lene there  remains  in  your  tank  at  any  time. 

Gasolene  Leaks. 

One  often  hears  of  abnormal  gasolene  consumption  in  cer- 
tain cars,  while  sister  cars  are  known  to  run  far  more  eco- 


160  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

nomically,  and  this  is  put  down  as  a  rule  to  the  driver.  To  a 
great  extent  the  gasolene  consumption  is  under  the  control  of 
the  driver,  but  very  often  slight  leaks  in  the  gasolene  system 
are  responsible  for  a  considerable  amount  of  gasolene  being 
wasted,  and  as  the  gasolene  evaporates  immediately,  it  is  ex- 
posed to  the  air,  these  leaks  escape  notice,  and  the  owner's 
pocket  suffers  accordingly.  If  a  high  consumption  is  experi- 
enced, and  the  ordinary  remedies  fail,  we  would  suggest  using 
a  mixture  of  gasolene  and  kerosene,  say,  in  proportions  of  one 
gallon  of  kerosene  to  four  gallons  of  gasolene,  when  the  kero- 
sene will  percolate  through  any  leaks,  but  will  not  evaporate, 
thus  rendering  the  locality  of  the  leak  easy  to  determine.  As 
soon  as  the  leaks  are  found  out  and  repaired  gasolene  alone 
can  be  used  again  if  desired.  An  alternative  is  to  place  in  the 
gasolene  tank  a  few  grains  of  some  aniline  dye.  This  will 
color  the  gasolene,  say,  a  dark  blue,  without  affecting  its  quali- 
ties. The  dyed  gasolene  will  now  pass  through  these  leaks  and 
leave  a  stain  wherever  a  leak  occurs. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  carry  a  length  of  rubber  piping  which 
nicely  fits  on  the  gasolene  pipe  from  the  tank  to  the  carbu- 
reter. If  the  tank  should  ever  leak  seriously  that  rubber  pipe 
can  be  put  on  one  end  on  to  the  gasolene  pipe.  The  other 
end,  which  has  a  short  length  of  metal  pipe,  will  be  put 
through  the  cork  of  one  of  the  two  two-gallon  cans  of  gaso- 
lene which  should  be  always  carried  in  the  car,  irrespective 
of  what  may  be  in  the  running  tank,  and  by  propping  or  hold- 
ing up  this  can  the  driver  will  be  able  to  get  gasolene  to  the 
carbureter,  and  reach  home  or  a  place  where  the  tank  or  its 
connections  can  be  repaired. 

Gasolene   Supply. 

When  touring  in  remote  districts,  where  gasolene  supplies 
are  infrequent,  and  where  the  quality  is  of  a  doubtful  char- 
acter, one  naturally  wishes  to  carry  as  large  a  supply  of  satis- 
factory spirit  as  possible.  The  storing  of  this,  however,  in 
two-gallon  cans  is  inconvenient  in  many  instances,  as,  no  mat- 
ter how  neatly  they  are  packed  when  starting  out,  they  are 


Knox  Model  "O"  Transmission  Gears,  Shafts  and  Bearings. 


Knox   Model    "O"    Power   Plant— Water    Cooled. 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  161 

certain  sooner  or  later  to  become  dislodged,  either  for  the  pur- 
pose of  removing  baggage  or  obtaining  spare  parts,  tools,  etc., 
and  they  are  never  repacked  as  neatly  as  they  were  before. 
Even  if  they  retain  their  original  position,  there  is  always  the 
fear  of  their  becoming  upset  through  the  vibration  of  the  car 
when  traveling.  In  many  types  of  motor  vehicles  there  is 
ample  room  for  the  placing  of  a  tank  in  which  may  be  carried 
any  quantity  of  gasolene  up  to,  say,  twenty  or  thirty  gallons. 
Generally  these  tanks  should  be  located  beneath  the  floor- 
boards of  the  car,  having  a  convenient  rilling  cap  on  the  out- 
side of  the  car,  or  by  lifting  a  floorboard  in  the  back  seats  of 
the  car.  The  cap  should  be  perfectly  airtight,  and  provided 
with  an  air  pressure  valve  and  permanent  connections  to  the 
ordinary  gasolene  tank.  When  it  is  desired  to  replenish 
the  latter,  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  turn  on  the  tap  be- 
tween the  spare  tank  and  the  regular  supply  tank.  Then,  by 
means  of  the  tire  pump,  sufficient  pressure  is  raised  in  the  spare 
tank  to  force  the  spirit  from  that  into  the  second  receptacle — 
an  obviously  easier  and  cleaner  procedure  than  the  unscrew- 
ing and  filling  up  from  cans,  to  say  nothing  of  less  waste,  as 
the  spare  tank  could  be  filled  at  a  quicker  rate  than  the  ordi- 
nary tank.  In  addition  to  being  much  safer,  this  arrangement 
gives  much  more  space  for  baggage,  not  to  mention  the  pas- 
sengers' feet  and  limbs. 

For  Straining  Gasolene. 

A  Boston,  Mass.,  automobilist  contributes  a  good  tip  for  the 
straining  of  gasolene  before  putting  it  into  the  tank.  He  says : 
"I  have  found  the  best  quality  (jewelers')  chamois  skin  makes 
a  most  excellent  medium  for  straining  gasolene.  It  stops  dirt, 
fluff  and  water,  so  far  as  my  experience  shows,  and  if  the  open- 
ing of  the  funnel  is  8  inches  in  diameter,  so  that  a  good-sized 
piece  of  skin  may  be  used,  it  does  not  materially  delay  the 
filling  of  the  tank." 

It  is  often  a  somewhat  difficult  matter  to  get  car  owners  to 
realize  the  necessity  for  straining  gasolene  as  it  is  poured  into 
the  supply  tank  of  the  car.  Even  men  who  have  owned 


162  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

cars  for  some  time  neglect  this  important  though  apparently 
small  matter.  They  invariably  start  off  by  straining  their 
gasolene,  but  sometimes  when  the  strainer  is  not  at  hand  they 
simply  pour  the  contents  into  the  supply  tank  from  the  can 
direct.  Because  nothing  has  happened  they  have  continued 
this  practice,  with  the  result  that  they  have  got  an  accumula- 
tion of  dirt  which  sooner  or  later  reaches  the  carbureter,  caus- 
ing a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  annoyance  before  it  is  finally- 
got  rid  of.  Rather  than  fill  up  the  tank  with  unstrained  gaso- 
lene, it  is  better  to  use  a  pocket  handkerchief  folded  twice  or 
three  times,  or  even  four  times,  according  to  the  texture  o£ 
the  material,  and  make  a  strainer  of  it.  Of  course,  the  hand- 
kerchief, after  being  employed  in  this  way,  is  not  desirable  for 
personal  use. 

An  Improved  Gasolene  Filter. 

Another  owner  writes:  "It  has  been  my  experience  that 
gasolene  is  continually  getting  dirtier,  and  only  during  the  past 
year  or  so  have  I  had  to  clear  my  gasolene  supply  pipes  on 
account  of  sluggish  running,  and  I  am  (or  rather  was)  sur- 
prised to  find  so  much  dirt.  It  occurred  to  me  that  a  more 
efficient  filter  could  be  easily  made  to  filter  the  spirit  so  per- 
fectly that  no  solid  matter  or  sediment  could  ever  get  into  the 
tank.  The  following  was  adopted,  and  the  arrangement  has 
proven  most  satisfactory: 

"Take  an  ordinary  funnel,  and  remove  (by  melting  the 
solder)  the  lower  end.  Buy  a  pepper  dredger,  knock  the  bot- 
tom out,  and  after  straightening  and  cleaning  the  edges,  solder 
this  on  to  the  top  part  of  the  original  funnel. 

"Enlarge  by  drilling  small  holes  in  the  copper  lid  of  the 
pepper-box,  and  your  filter  is  complete  when  a  small  circular 
piece  of  linen  is  placed  under  the  cover  of  the  pepper-box.  A 
supply  of  linen  disks  should  be  kept,  for  I  find  that  a  new 
one  is  required  for  filtering  each  can  of  gasolene." 

Auxiliary  Gasolene  Tank  for  Touring  Purposes. 

Where  gravity  feed  is  used  for  the  gasolene  supply  to  the 
carbureter,  the  gasolene  tank  is  often  fitted  as  high  as  possi- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  163 

ble  under  the  driver's  seat,  this  giving  just  about  sufficient 
head  of  gasolene  to  allow  of  satisfactory  working  on  ordinary 
give-and-take  roads.  However,  when  touring  through  hilly 
districts,  it  is  found  that  at  times  there  is  difficulty  in  main- 
taining the  proper  gasolene  feed  to  the  carbureter,  so  that  just 
at  the  time  when  most  gasolene  is  needed  less  is  obtained. 
To  get  over  this  difficulty,  a  spare  tank  can  be  fitted  at  the 
forward  end  of  the  car,  and  connected  to  the  carbureter,  so 
that  the  fact  of  having  hill-climbing  to  do  would  allow  of 
really  a  higher  head  of  gasolene  to  be  supplied  to  the  car- 
bureter, so  that  no  difficulty  in  climbing  the  worst  of  hills 
can  be  caused  by  failure  of  the  gasolene  supply  to  the  car- 
bureter. 

On  Repairing  Gasolene  Tanks. 

Should  a  tank  or  other  vessel  which  has  contained  gasolene 
require  repairs  calling  for  a  soldering  iron,  great  care  should 
be  taken  to  clear  such  tank  of  any  gasolene  fumes  which  may 
remain  therein,  otherwise  there  is  the  possibility  of  an  explo- 
sion occurring.  Gasolene  fumes  being  heavier  than  air  will 
remain  in  any  vessel  for  a  considerable  time,  even  though  it 
has  an  opening  to  the  air.  There  are  several  ways  of  clearing 
away  such  fumes,  of  which  turning  the  tank  with  its  opening 
to  the  lowest  point  and  leaving  it  so  for  several  hours  is  the 
easiest.  Another  method  is  to  subject  the  tank  to  indirect  heat 
in  a  similar  position  to  that  mentioned ;  that  is,  perhaps,  the 
quickest  method,  though  not  always  convenient.  In  any  case, 
it  is  always  advisable  to  keep  it,  if  a  blow  lamp  is  used,  as  far 
away  from  the  tank  as  possible. 

Fitting  a  Float  to  a  Tank. 

Every  driver  feels  the  need  of  a  float  for  showing  the  height 
of  the  gasolene  in  the  tank,  though  only  the  most  modern  cars 
are  so  fitted.  We  show  a  simple  method  of  fitting  a  float  to 
any  tank  without  cutting  the  tank  open.  The  ordinary  filling 
cap  A  is  removed,  and  centrally  in  it  is  made  a  hole.  Through 
this  hole  is  passed  a  nipple  B,  which  is  soldered  in  place.  The 
nipple  is  formed  with  a  shoulder  providing  suitable  holding 


164 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


surface  for  the  solder  in  spite  of  the  usual  thinness  of  the 
filling  cap.  Through  this  nipple  B  is  passed  a  wire  C  at- 
tached to  a  float  D.  Replacing  the  filling  cap,  the  float  will 
rise,  and  the  wire  passing  through  the  nipple  will  indicate 
how  much  fuel  there  is  in  the  tank.  Generally  speaking,  it  is 
advisable  to  make  the  float  to  withdraw  from  the  tank  with 
the  filling  cap.  For  this  purpose  the  end  of  the  wire  can  be 
riveted  over,  or  provided  with  a  ball,  as  shown  at  E.  On  the 
top  of  the  nipple  is  screwed  a  cap  F,  which  normally  keeps  the 


float  down.  Directly  the  small  cap  F  is  removed,  the  float 
will  rise.  Of  course,  the  float  D  is  made  sufficiently  small  to 
pass  through  the  ordinary  filling  opening,  and  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  damage  the  float  when  the  cap  A  is  removed.  In 
making  a  float  suitable  for  the  purpose,  it  is  advisable  to  test 
its  buoyancy  in  gasolene,  after  the  wire  C  has  been  fixed. 
A  float  which  is  sufficiently  buoyant  in  water  is  nothing  like 
so  buoyant  in  gasolene,  and  much  time  can  be  saved  by  first 
testing  this  point. 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  165 


PART  XIII. 
OPERATING  MECHANISM. 

The  control  mechanism  of  a  typical  modern  (1909)  auto- 
mobile is  described  below : 

Steering  Wheel — The  wheel  is  constructed  of  bronze  with 
hard  rubber  grip.  This  is  a  special  feature;  the  wheel  is  a 
very  strong  and  the  grip  is  unaffected  by  the  weather  and  al- 
ways presents  a  neat  and  attractive  appearance. 

Steering  Gears — The  power  exerted  through  the  wheel  is 
communicated  to  the  steering  gears — the  worm  and  sector — 
which  are  of  special  steel.  The  parts  are  thoroughly  lubricat- 
ed and  completely  protected. 

Steering  Mechanism — A  short  vertical  shaft  connects  the 
sector  with  the  steering  connecting  rod,  its  upper  end  fitting 
over  a  hexagon  taper  on  the  sector  and  locked  with  a  castel- 
lated nut,  and  the  lower  end  is  ball  shaped,  forming  part  of 
the  universal  joint  at  the  rear  end  of  the  steering  connecting 
rod.  Buffer  springs  are  placed  at  both  ends  of  the  steering 
connecting  rod  to  absorb  the  shock  caused  by  jolting  over 
rough  roads ;  hexagon  nuts  hold  the  springs  and  socket  joints 
in  place,  these  nuts  being  pinned  in  place  so  nothing  can  work 
loose,  and  yet  when  desired  may  be  removed  for  the  purpose 
of  thoroughly  cleaning  all  the  parts ;  the  universal  joints  at 
both  ends  of  the  steering  connecting  rod  are  packed  in  grease 
and  protected  by  leather  boots.  The  front  tie  rod  is  placed 
back  of  the  front  axle. 

Spark  Lever — Placed  on  top  of  steering  wheel  and  stamped 
"Spark."  When  pulled  back  toward  the  operator  as  far  as  it 
will  go  the  spark  is  fully  retarded  and  when  pushed  as  far 


166  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

forward  on  the  quadrant  as  it  will  go  the  spark  is  fully  ad- 
vanced. 

Hand  Throttle — A  small  lever  stamped  "Gas"  is  placed  on 
top  of  the  steering  wheel  and  as  it  is  pushed  forward  the 
throttle  is  opened.  The  throttle  is  of  the  balanced  type  and 
operated  by  the  governor,  and  the  adjustment  is  such  that 
when  the  hand  throttle  on  the  wheel  is  fully  opened  the  gov- 
ernor will  prevent  the  motor  from  racing. 

Foot  Throttle — This  is  a  pedal  operated  by  the  right  foot; 
wheri  fully  depressed  it  opens  the  throttle  wide  and  overcomes 
the  action  of  the  governor. 

Gear  Shift  Lever — This  is  placed  so  as  to  be  operated  con- 
veniently by  the  right  hand.  The  various  positions  of  the 
lever  give  the  following  results  :  Outer  Quadrant :  lever  farth- 
est forward, — Reverse  ;  next  position  back, — First  Speed  ;  cen- 
tral position, — Neutral ;  rear  position, — Second  Speed.  Inner 
Quadrant:  front  position, — Third  Speed;  central  position, — 
Neutral ;  rear  position, — Fourth  Speed. 

Brake  Lever — This  is  a  hand  lever  placed  just  beyond  the 
gear  shift  lever;  the  brakes  are  engaged  by  pulling  the  lever 
back. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  \67 


PART  XIV. 
CHOICE  OF  A  CAR,  ETC. 

To  the  average  man  the  purchase  of  an  automobile  usually 
involves  many  important  considerations,  including  those  of 
price,  cost  of  upkeep  and  adaptability  for  the  buyer's  pur- 
pose. 

The  question  of  choice  among  the  numerous  makes  and 
models  of  cars  now  offered  to  the  public  may  be  considered 
under  two  general  heads,  namely,  in  relation  to  new  cars  pur- 
chased from  the  makers  or  an  agent  and  second-hand  cars 
bought  from  a  private  owner  or  a  dealer. 

"In  choosing  a  car,"  writes  an  autoist  who  has  been  through 
the  mill,  "one  has  a  good  many  things  to  consider.  First, 
perhaps,  comes  the  sadly  sordid  question  of  cost,  and  this 
question  has  several  subsidiary  ones  tacked  on  to  it.  Are 
you  prepared  to  spend  enough  to  buy  a  thoroughly  sound 
car  of  well-known  make,  and  are  you  prepared  to  devote  a 
proper  amount  to  its  upkeep?  Do  you  realize  that  a  certain 
annual  expenditure  above  and  beyond  gasolene,  etc.,  is  neces- 
sary to  a  motor  car?  Or  are  you  only  disposed  to  lay  out 
the  price  of  a  good  second-hand  car?  Do  the  claims  of  gaso- 
lene, of  steam,  or  of  e1jctricity  appeal  most  strongly  to  you? 
How  many  passengers  do  you  desire  to  accommodate,  and 
what  horse-power  will  you  consider  necessary?  Will  you 


168  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

be  content  with  low  power  which  will  propel  you  at  decent 
speed  on  the  level,  but  will  require  the  lower  speeds  for  hill 
work,  or  would  you  prefer  sufficient  engine  power  to  carry 
you  up  gradients  of  I  in  10  without  changing  down?  Do  you 
propose  to  do  your  own  driving,  or  is  your  automobiling  to 
be  of  so  strictly  amateur  a  character  that  you  will  keep  a 
chauffeur  who  will  do  all  the  driving?  You  say  your  friend 
has  a  So-and-so  that  never  gives  him  any  trouble,  and  you 
mean  to  have  the  same?  Well,  there  is  something  in  that, 
provided  your  friend's  requirements  -and  accomplishments  are 
the  same  as  your  own ;  but  not  necessarily  otherwise.  Per- 
haps he  will  sell  you  his  car.  There  is  nothing  like  know- 
ing the  antecedents  of  a  second-hand  investment." 

There  is  a  widespread  opinion  that  every  beginn-er  should 
learn  on  a  small  car  of  moderate  horse-power.  He  will  learn 
quicker  than  on  a  big  car,  and  in  the  trying  days  of  his  noviti- 
ate will  be  less  likely  to  prove  a  danger  to  himself  and  the 
general  public.  There  is  an  absence  of  responsibility  about 
a  modest  light  car,  and  the  driver  gains  confidence  rapidly, 
whereas  the  big  car  proves  a  constant  strain  to  his  nerves. 
His  mistakes,  too,  prove  far  less  expensive.  With  a  big  ex- 
pensive car  ignorance  or  carelessn-ess  may  cost  him  consider- 
able money  within  the  first  few  months.  With  a  small  car  he 
is  less  likely  to  make  mistakes  that  cause  damage,  while  the 
cost  of  making  good  such  damage  as  may  occur  is  trifling  as 
compared  with  the  big  car.  From  the  pleasure  point  of  view  he 
will  derive  just  as  much  value  from  a  light  car  as  if  he  aspired 
higher  before  gaining  experience,  and  will  at  the  same  time 
have  in  reserve  the  keen  pleasure  of  graduating  on  to  smoother 
running  vehicles  of  greater  horse-power,  until  the  limit  which 
he  can  afford  has  been  reached.  Even  when  he  has  attained 
the  summit  of  his  ambition  he  will  still  possess  a  kin-dly  affec- 
tion for  the  small  light  car,  and  will  find  it  advantageous  from 
an  economical,  pleasurable,  and  convenience  point  of  view  to 
keep  one  in  his  garage. 

Having  learnt  on  the  small  car,  and  become  comparatively 
efficient,  the  beginner  naturally  aspires  higher.  If  he  is  a 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  169 

man  of  moderate  means,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term,  he 
may  be  satisfied  with  his  small  car,  though  it  be  but  a  two- 
seater.  The  light  car  of  good  construction  is  ^cheaper  to  run 
than  a  horse  and  buggy,  even  after  allowing  for  depreciation, 
upkeep,  tires,  fuel,  and  interest  on  capital,  and  will  carry  him 
reliably  at  an  average  speed  considerably  over  the  legal  limit. 
The  addition  of  a  tonneau,  however,  to  the  lighter  cars  makes 
a  very  appreciable  difference.  The  initial  cost  is  higher,  the 
wear  and  tear  greater,  tires  do  not  last  so  long,  and  the  con- 
sumption of  gasolene  and  oil  is  increased. 

With  the  three,  four,  and  six-cylinder  cars  the  increase  is 
continued  almost  in  the  same  proportion,  and  there  is  practi- 
cally no  limit  upward. 

As  regards  the  choice  of  make  only  general  advice  can  be 
given.  Do  not  invest  in  an  absolutely  new  type  made  by  a 
firm  whose  members  have  not  had  experience  in  the  motor 
business. 

Do  not  trust  your  own  judgment.  Even  a  trained  engi- 
neer cannot  tell  by  mere  inspection  if  a  car  is  all  right. 

Do  not  attach  too  much  importance  to  the  advice  of  inter- 
ested parties. 

If  you  are  absolutely  inexperienced  and  have  no  friends  to 
whose  judgment  you  can  trust  implicity,  buy  on  reputation.  A 
car  which  has  been  before  the  public  for  years,  and  is  in  large 
demand  and  highly  spoken  of,  must  possess  merit. 

If  you  have  gained  a  certain  amount  of  knowledge  by  inter- 
course with  other  automobilists,  or  by  reading,  inspect  the 
types  you  think  most  promising,  get  demonstrations  and  trial 
runs,  and  then,  giving  special  weight  to  the  public  reputation 
of  the  firm,  and  the  experience  of  those  friends  of  yours  who 
have  owned  such  cars,  make  your  decision. 

Above  all  things  avoid,  if  possible,  the  "cheap  and  nasty" 
car.  It  will  probably  cost  you  as  much  in  repairs  during  a 
single  season  as  (added  to  your  initial  expenditure)  horse- 
power for  horse-power,  would  have  bought  you  the  best  car 
on  the  market. 

As  regards  second-hand  cars,  never  buy  without  getting  ex- 


170  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

pert  and  disinterested  examination.  It  is  worth  paying  a  few 
dollars  for  this.  Also  try  and  find  out  something  of  the  previ- 
ous history  of  the  car,  and  the  character  of  the  driver,  as  such. 
Many  men  ill-treat  their  cars,  and  the  purchaser  of  the  same 
second-hand  is  buying  trouble.  For  this  very  reason  second- 
hand cars  sell  cheaply,  and  there  are  grand  bargains  to  be 
picked  up  if  the  would-be  purchaser  can  only  succeed  in  sep- 
arating the  chaff  from  the  wheat. 

The  Question  of  Price. 

Many  people  complain  that  the  prices  charged  for  auto- 
mobiles are  exorbitant.  Most  of  them  have  never  seen  a  car 
made,  and  would  wonder  how  it  £ould  be  done  for  the  money 
if  they  had  the  opportunity  and  patience  to  follow  all  the 
different  processes  through  from  beginning  to  end.  It  must 
be  remembered,  too,  that  in  comparatively  few  cases  are 
models  sufficiently  well  established,  either  in  the  factory  or 
by  fashion,  to  justify  their  being  turned  out  in  very  large 
quantities.  As  time  goes  on,  doubtless  cars  will  become 
cheaper;  or,  rather,  while  the  prices  remain  much  the  same, 
the  value  given  for  those  prices  will  be  higher. 

Except  in  the  case  where  cost  is  no  object,  it  is  best  to 
decide  in  the  first  instance  on  the  sum  proposed  to  be  ex- 
pended, then  to  hunt  through  some  such  list  of  cars  as  is  pro- 
duced by  the  leading  automobile  journals  about  the  period  of 
the  annual  exhibitions.  This  will  lead  to  a  number  of  makes 
being  noted  as  approximately  right  in  relation  to  seating  ac- 
commodation, price,  and  (now  that  information  on  motoring 
is  becoming  fairly  widespread)  perhaps  also  speed  and  power. 
The  number  so  chosen  can  generally  be  further  reduced  to 
four  or  five  after  consulting  the  illustrations  and  descriptions 
of  the  most  recent  models  elsewhere  in  this  Cyclopedia,  and  by 
referring  to  the  good  or  bad  results  obtained  in  reliability 
trials,  races,  long-distance  records,  etc.  The  results  of  speed 
races  are  not  much  guide  as  to  the  excellence  of  a  model,  how- 
ever, except  the  really  serious  races  of  great  length,  the  win- 
ning of  which  may  be  looked  on  as  proof  that  the  factory  has 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  171 

a  staff  capable  of  designing,  calculating  and  turning  out  a 
machine  which  can  withstand  the  severe  conditions  of  such 
a  r  in. 

Examination  and  Advice. 

The  next  step  is  to  visit  the  showrooms  of  the  makers  and 
use  one's  judgment,  receiving  with  due  discretion  the  neces- 
sarily favorable  verdict  which  the  salesman  will  pronounce 
upon  his  own  product.  At  this  point  the  real  difficulty  of 
choice  comes  in.  If  one  has  automobiling  friends  with  en- 
experience  and  advice  may  sometimes  be  secured  by  consult- 
ing an  engineer,  but  such  a  professional  adviser  must,  of 
course,  not  be  a  dealer  in,  or  interested  in  the  sale  of  any 
cars. 

It  is  unwise  as  a  general  rule  to  buy  cars  through  the  inter- 
mediary of  one's  own  or  a  friend's  chauffeur.  It  is  preferable 
to  trade  direct  with  either  the  manufacturer  or  his  agent,  and, 
when  there  is  a  choice  of  agents,  to  buy  from  whatever  local 
man  is  most  likely  to  be  called  on  to  do  the  repairs  afterwards. 
In  either  case  it  is  often  profitable  to  obtain  and  pay  for 
skilled  advice  on  the  principle  of  the  saying,  "Advice  that  is 
not  paid  for  is  not  worth  having." 

Every  purchaser  should,  when  ordering  or  buying  a  car, 
remember  that  he  will  some  day  want  to  sell  it.  This  will 
often  prevent  the  installation  of  some  special  "fad"  which  is 
the  craze  of  the  passing  moment  or  the  indulgence  of  some 
personal  whim  in  construction  which  will  surely  detract  from 
the  selling  value  subsequently. 

Buying  a  Second-hand  Car. 

In  buying  a  second-hand  car  a  very  nice  discrimination  has 
to  be  used,  for  there  are  as  many  points  about  the  second-hand 
automobile  as  there  are  about  a  stockyards  horse.  It  is  always 
best  to  obtain  an  expert's  opinion  before  finally  buying,  unless 
the  purchaser  has  already  had  sufficient  experience  to  dis- 
criminate between  a  mechanism  which  has  been  fairly  worn 
and  one  which  has  been  torn  about  by  bad  driving  and  neglect. 

Never  buy  a  car  because  of  its  outward  appearance;  a  coat 


172  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

of  paint  will  cover  a  multitude  of  blemishes,  and  it  is  not  the 
finish  which  runs  the  car,  though  it  frequently  sells  it  to  the 
novice.  Often  the  result  is  that  the  owner  pays  for  repairs  in 
a  few  months  a  sum  of  money  which,  if  added  to  the  pur- 
chase price  of  the  car,  would  have  been  sufficient  to  buy  a  new 
car.  At  the  same  time,  a  second-hand  machine  may  prove  an 
excellent  educator  in  motor  mechanics,  and  if  the  buyer  hap- 
pens to  get  hold  of  a  really  bad  car,  what  he  does  not  know 
about  the  details  of  an  automobile  and  its  tributary  mechanism 
inside  of  six  months  is  hardly  worth  knowing. 

Examining  the  Frame — Having  met  with  an  apparently  sat- 
isfactory vehicle,  after  a  general  inspection,  the  frame  and 
wheels  should  first  of  all  be  subjected  to  a  careful  detailed  ex- 
amination. Many  buyers  are  disposed  to  go  for  the  motor  and 
gearing  alone,  entirely  neglecting  the  carriage  work  and 
frame,  but  as  the  latter  has  to  carry  the  former,  one  should  al- 
ways go  into  that  part  first,  so  that  an  opinion  as  to  the  en- 
gine's capabilities  of  moving  the  vehicle  can  readily  be  formed. 
The  stability  of  the  entire  machine  centers  itself  upon  the 
wheels,  for  no  matter  how  good  the  rest  may  be,  the  whole  is 
weak,  from  a  traveling  point  of  view,  if  the  wheels  are  not 
strong  enough  to  do  the  work  they  will  be  called  upon  to  per- 
form. Therefore,  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  examine  the  wheels 
and  their  axles. 

Supposing  the  wheels  to  be  wood,  the  first  tests  should  be 
for  soundness  generally.  Grasp  the  rim  of  the  wheel,  and  pull 
it  towards  and  then  push  it  forcibly  away  from  you.  If  any 
give  is  felt  or  creaking  heard,  examine  the  wheel  carefully  to 
see  that  the  spokes  are  tight  at  the  hub  and  at  the  felloe  or 
rim.  If  the  wheel  happens  to  have  been  built  of  imperfectly- 
seasoned  wood,  a  shrinkage  will  probably  occur,  resulting  in  a 
loosening  of  the  spokes  at  the  felloe.  More  frequently  the 
spokes  are  strained  by  inconsiderate  driving  over  bad  roads 
and  unduly  violent  use  of  the  brake  many  times  repeated.  Hav- 
ing tested  all  the  wheels  for  soundness,  next  have  them  jacked 
up,  and  try  them  for  wear  in  the  bearings  and  for  truth  in  run- 
ning both  circumferentially  and  laterally. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  173 

The  chief  test  for  axles  is  to  find  whether  they  have  sunk 
or  not ;  this  is  an  easy  test,  for  one  has  only  to  view  the  wheel 
edgewise  and  note  if  it  is  vertical  or  otherwise.  If  any  doubt 
exists,  a  plumb  line  may  be  used.  Pass  a  wheel  which  inclines 
outward  at  its  top  edge,  but  instantly  reject  it  if  it  inclines  in- 
ward, despite  any  plausible  explanations  from  the  vendor. 

Springs  and  their  Fastenings — Next  examine  the  springs 
and  their  fastenings  both  to  frame  and  axle.  There  is  a  big 
strain  upon  the  shackles  around  the  axles,  and  signs  of  spring- 
ing here  should  be  looked  for.  This  is  indicated  by  a  crack- 
ing of  the  joint  and  an  unmistakable  line  at  the  point  of  move- 
ment. Note  that  the  springs  lie  flat  upon  one  another,  partic- 
ularly at  the  joints.  If  they  are  apt  to  gape,  they  have  been 
badly  strained  and  the  plates  set  back ;  the  plates  are  therefore 
not  doing  their  full  share  of  the  work,  the  greater  part  of  it 
devolving  upon  the  principal  member. 

Unsuspected  Points  of  Wear — Points  of  considerable  wear 
unsuspected  and  unattended  to  by  many  experienced  auto- 
mobilists  are  the  bolts  by  which  the  springs  are  connected 
to  the  frame,  particularly  the  free  or  linked  end  of  the  spring. 
When  the  car  is  in  motion  there  is  constant  friction  upon 
the  top  and  bottom  halves  of  the  respective  link  bolts.  Many 
owners  have  seen  these  bolts  worn  down  by  grooving  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  below  the  original  diameter,  and  that  after 
a  few  months'  use.  Much  may  be  done  to  reduce  this  wear 
if  the  bolts  are  regularly  oiled  around  the  links  and  the  eye 
at  the  opposite  end  of  the  spring. 

The  Steering  Gear — The  next  part  of  the  outfit  to  receive 
attention  should  be  the  steering  gear.  Anyone  who  has  ever 
ridden  in  an  automobile  and  given  its  operation  a  thought  will 
at  once  realize  the  importance  of  having  this  as  perfect  as 
possible.  The  first  thing  to  notice  is  the  amount  of  backlash 
or  free  motion  of  the  steering  wheel  or  handle  before  the  steer- 
ing comes  into  operation.  If  the  steering  is  of  the  worm  and 
segment  type,  and  the  lost  motion  is  found  to  be  here,  there 
is  no  radical  cure  for  it  beyond  replacement.  If  it  is  on  the 
combined  screw,  nut,  rack  and  pinion  type — that  is,  with  a 


174  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

nut  working  on  a  screw  on  the  steering  column,  the  former 
having  a  rack  on  it  engaging  with  a  pinion — adjustment  is 
possible  by  the  lock-nuts  at  the  bottom  of  the  steering  column. 
If  the  looseness  is  not  here  it  will  probably  be  found  in  the 
connection  of  the  steering  and  distance  rods.  If  these  connec- 
tions are  made  with  cone  screws  they  may  be  adjusted,  but  if 
plain  bolts  are  used  it  means  fitting  new  bolts,  at  least,  to 
correct  the  error. 

Brake-applying  Connections — Particular  attention  should  be 
directed  towards  the  braking  arrangement,  especially  as  to  its 
adjustment,  and  to  the  range  of  the  hand  lever  applying  the 
back  wheel  brakes.  Unless  the  brake-applying  connections  are 
correctly  compensated  both  as  to  the  equal  application  of 
power  to  the  brake  drums  and  to  the  relative  movement  be- 
tween the  carriage  body  and  the  back  axle,  it  will  be  found 
that  while  the  brake  may  be  applied  with  sufficient  force  to 
stop  the  car  while  the  body  is  up  on  the  springs,  yet  when  it 
is  down  the  lever  canot  be  pushed  down  sufficiently  to  apply 
any  appreciable  power  to  the  brake  drums.  This  is  because 
the  slackness  has  to  be  taken  up  first  by  the  hand  lever  before 
the  band  is  applied  to  the  drum.  Unless  sufficient  travel  is 
provided  on  the  notched  quadrant,  it  will  be  seen  that  with  a 
heavy  load  the  efficiency  of  the  brakes  is  decreased  under  the 
very  conditions  at  which  it  should  be  at  its  best.  Sit  in  the 
car  and  put  on  the  brake  as  hard  as  you  can,  and  mark  the 
notch  in  which  the  lever  rests.  Now  load  up  the  car  and  see 
how  much  further  down  the  lever  goes.  Beyond  this  point 
there  should  be  several  notches,  so  as  to  make  further  ap- 
plication of  the  brake  possible  in  contingencies.  This  latitude 
is  noticeable  in  nearly  every  car  fitted  with  cable-applied 
brakes,  but  is  not  so  apparent  in  those  using  solid  connecting 
rods.  The  pedal-applied  countershaft  band  brake  is  not  of 
so  much  importance,  as  it  may  easily  be  adjusted,  and  its  con- 
ditions of  use  are  not  variable. 

The  Control  Handles — Try  the  control  handles,  sparking 
advance,  air  to  carbureter,  and  throttle  if  fitted ;  see  if  these  are 
performing  their  various  duties  correctly  and  without  too 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  175 

much  play.  At  the  same  time,  note  the  relative  movement 
of  each  part  and  its  lever;  that  is,  make  sure  of  the  position 
of  the  lever  when,  say,  the  spark  is  retarded  for  starting.  It 
is  useful  to  know  these  little  things  when  running  the  motor 
later  on.  It  must  always  be  remembered  that  a  certain 
amount  of  wear  has  been  had  out  of  a  second-hand  car,  and 
that  absolutely  perfect  adjustment  must  not,  and  need  not,  be 
expected. 

Testing  the  Motor — This  brings  us  to  the  motor.  Much  has 
to  be  taken  for  granted  here,  as  it  is  impossible  to  find  out  the 
exact  state  of  an  engine  short  of  taking  it  down,  and  it  is 
hardly  likely  that  any  owner  would  consent  to  this,  unless 
under  very  exceptional  circumstances.  However,  some  very 
useful  information  may  be  deduced  by  anyone  understanding 
the  running  of  a  motor.  For  those  who  are  unable  to  get  any 
experienced  assistance,  the  following  tests  may  be  carried  out, 
supposing  that  a  single-cylinder  motor  is  being  tried — the 
multi-cylinder  we  will  deal  with  later: 

First  test  the  compression.  Take  the  starting  handle  and 
turn  round  the  crankshaft  until  decided  resistance  is  en- 
countered; then  bear  heavily  upon  the  handle,  noting  the 
strength  it  takes  to  turn  the  handle  until  the  compression 
stroke  is  passed.  The  longer  the  time  and  the  greater  the 
strength  required  to  overcome  this  resistance  the  better  the 
engine  is  as  regards  the  fit  and  wear  of  the  cylinder  and 
piston.  It  must,  of  course,  be  seen  that  the  valve  lifter  is 
down,  or  the  compression  relief  is  closed,  otherwise  no  com- 
pression will  be  encountered.  Another  thing  which  will  some- 
times be  found  seriously  to  affect  compression  is  that,  through 
wear  on  the  exhaust  valve  seating,  the  valve  stem  has  got 
right  down  on  to  the  plunger,  so  that  it  does  not  close  down 
on  to  its  seat  perfectly.  This  and  the  proper  fixing  of  the 
sparking  plug  and  other  cylinder  fittings  are  obviously  things 
to  be  attended  to  before  carrying  out  this  test. 

Connecting  Rod  Bearings — The  next  test  is  for  wear  in  the 
connecting  rod  bearings ;  this,  in  some  cases,  is  very  difficult 
to  carry  out.  Where  it  is  practicable  to  fix  the  starting  handle, 


176  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

or  a  long  wrench  to  the  crankshaft  end,  a  gentle  movement 
backward  and  forward  will  disclose  any  looseness  in  these 
bearings.  Failing  this  test,  the  engine  should  be  listened  to 
very  carefully  while  starting  up,  running  slow,  and  stopping. 
If  a  distinct  and  recurring  knocking  noise  is  heard,  it  may 
very  safely  be  assumed  that  the  connecting-rod  bearings  are 
loose,  and  require  taking  up  or  renewing.  If  the  gearing  is 
inclosed  and  cannot  be  viewed,  remove  the  contact  breaker 
cover,  and  by  moving  the  cam  backward  and  forward  a  rough 
estimate  of  wear  can  be  formed.  If  these  wheels  have  been 
badly  cut  in  the  first  place,  the  wear  may  amount  to  such 
proportions  as  would  materially  affect  both  the  lifting  of  the 
exhaust  valve  and  the  amount  of  firing.  Of  course,  the  lat- 
ter may  be  corrected  by  advancing  the  contact,  but  the  late 
opening  of  the  exhaust  valve  cannot  be  remedied  without  re- 
setting the  wheel  on  the  shaft. 

The  Water  Circulating  System — If  the  motor  is  water- 
cooled,  examine  the  water  jacket  for  cracks,  particularly 
around  the  head  and  valve  chamber,  where  the  jacket  is  cast 
in  one  with  a  solid-headed  cylinder.  When  the  cylinder  and 
head  are  cast  separately  with  their  water  jackets  there  is  less 
risk  of  such  cracks  appearing.  Attention  should  next  be  di- 
rected towards  the  water  circulating  pump,  where  such  is 
fitted,  and  if  driven  by  belt  or  friction  wheel,  the  spindle  should 
be  felt  to  see  that  it  is  not  too  loose.  It  is  as  well  to  remove 
the  stuffing  box  nut  around  the  spindle,  for  at  this  point  there 
is  usually  a  lot  of  wear  taking  place,  and  it  is  just  as  well  to 
know  exactly  in  what  condition  the  pump  spindle  is.  It  will 
probably  save  a  lot  of  trouble  later  on.  Look  over  the  water 
pipes  and  connections.  A  badly-dented  tube  resists  the  pas- 
sage of  water,  and,  of  course,  affects  the  cooling  of  the  cyl- 
inder to  a  considerable  extent,  that  is,  if  it  be  a  main  delivery 
or  return  tube.  The  flexible  connections  of  the  water  pipes 
should  be  of  rubber  hose,  and  should  be  free  from  leaks.  It 
would  be  absurd  to  look  at  trivial  points  such  as  this  with  too 
critical  an  eye,  yet  beginners  often  make  a  trouble  of  a  point 
like  this,  while  they  would  say  nothing  about  a  lubricator 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  177 

which  would  not  work,  simply  because  they  did  not  know  it 
was  out  of  order.  This  is  where  the  experienced  man  comes  in. 

Testing  Ignition — The  electric  ignition  apparatus  should  re- 
ceive particular  attention,  as  it  is  sometimes  a  little  misun- 
derstanding of  this  part  which  brings  a  really  good  car  into 
the  market.  The  most  important  part  of  the  apparatus  is  the 
contact  breaker  or  commutator.  As  there  is  a  general  mis- 
understanding of  these  terms,  it  will  be  as  well  to  state  their 
differences  here.  The  contact  breaker  is  a  piece  of  mechanism 
in  which  two  parts  are  put  into  contact  with  one  another  for 
a  time,  and  are  then  parted.  A  commutator  is  a  disk  of  in- 
sulating material  having  on  its  periphery  metallic  pieces  in  a 
like  number  to  that  of  the  cylinder.  Bearing  upon  the  disk 
is  a  brush  of  copper  gauze,  sheet  copper,  or  steel,  which,  when 
the  metallic  pieces  in  the  commutator  pass  beneath  it,  cause 
the  current  to  pass.  As  the  commutator  is  now  perhaps  more 
frequently  employed  than  the  contact  breaker,  we  will  use 
this  term,  but  it  must  be  understood  that  any  remarks  apply 
to  both  equally.  The  first  thing  is  to  see  that  the  commutator 
is  set  correctly.  To  do  this,  relieve  the  cylinder  compression, 
and  turn  the  starting  handle  until  the  plunger  rises  to  lift  the 
exhaust  valve ;  continue  turning  until  the  plunger  drops.  Now 
turn  the  handle  round  one  revolution  exactly,  at  which  point 
the  commutator  should  be  about  to  come  into  action,  that  is, 
when  it  is  set  right  back.  Then  move  the  sparking  advance 
lever  up,  and  note  the  amount  of  travel  the  brush  has  around 
the  commutator ;  this  represents  the  limits  of  ignition.  A  more 
definite  method  of  finding  the  point  of  ignition  is,  when  pos- 
sible, to  drop  a  stiff  wire  through  the  compression  tap,  letting 
it  rest  upon  the  top  of  the  piston. 

Batteries  and  Wiring — The  wiring  and  all  the  connections 
should  be  examined  most  carefully,  especially  as  to  the  clean-, 
liness  of  the  terminals  and  the  soundness  of  the  insulation 
around  the  wires.  The  chief  points  for  inspecting  the  latter 
are  at  places  where  it  bends  round  any  part  of  the  mechanism, 
At  such  places  the  vibration  to  which  the  wire  is  subjected 

frequently  causes  the  insulation  to  be  worn  away,  resulting 
12 


178  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

in  annoying  short  circuits,  and  it  is  such  defects  as  these 
which,  as  we  said  before,  cause  good  machines  to  appear 
in  the  market.  Where  possible,  look  at  the  accumulator  or 
battery  plates  to  see  they  are  not  bent,  as  they  may  possibly 
be  if  they  have  been  discharged  too  rapidly  or  too  low.  Also 
note  at  the  same  time  if  the  plates  themselves  are  complete; 
it  sometimes  happens  that  some  of  the  paste  falls  from  the 
plates,  and  if  this  happens  to  lodge  between  a  positive  and 
negative  plate  it  sets  up  an  internal  "short,"  causing  no  lit- 
tle trouble. 

Carbureter  Efficiency — The  carbureter  should  be  examined 
to  see  that  the  air  adjustment,  float,  and  throttle  valve  (if 
fitted)  work  freely.  Start  the  engine  and  while  it  is  running 
slowly  listen  for  any  knocking  or  grinding  sounds.  Next, 
get  a  good  mixture,  and  with  the  throttle  full  open  gradually 
advance  the  ignition,  noting  if  the  engine  answers  to  it  well. 
Retard  the  spark,  or  cut  off  the  current,  and  again  listen  for 
any  knocks.  When  the  engine  stops,  start  it  up  again,  and 
advance  the  spark  about  half  or  two-thirds  of  its  travel,  and 
then  try  varying  the  speed  by  means  of  the  throttle  valve.  It 
will  be  as  well  at  this  stage  to  see  that  the  cooling  water  has 
not  become  unduly  heated,  for  if  it  keeps  fairly  cool  while 
the  engine  is  running  with  the  car  stationary,  it  will  be  cer- 
tain to  *be  more  effective  while  the  vehicle  is  moving.  No 
indication  of  the  power  of  the  engine  can  be  ascertained  while 
the  engine  is  running  light. 

Examining  Multi-cylinder  Engines — Up  to  the  present  we 
have  been  dealing  solely  with  a  single-cylinder  motor,  so  we 
will  now  pass  on  to  the  extended  tests  required  for  a  multi- 
cylinder  one.  Each  cylinder  should  be  tested  for  compression 
in  the  same  way  as  previously  described  for  a  single-cylinder. 
The  compression  in  each  cylinder  should  be,  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible, equal.  As  the  two-to-one  gear  wheels  are  usually  of 
ample  proportions,  deterioration  here  may  be  regarded  as  a 
negative  quantity.  The  ends  of  both  crankshaft  and  cam- 
shaft being  within  easy  access,  these  may  be  tried  for  wear, 
while  the  opposite  end  of  the  crankshaft  may  be  similarly  tried 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  179 

by  means  of  the  flywheel.  The  examination  of  the  commu- 
tator, as  regards  its  position,  is  not  of  such  great  importance 
in  this  case  on  account  of  the  reduced  wear  on  the  two-to-one 
gear  wheels.  The  remainder  of  the  mechanism  should  be  in- 
spected and  tested  in  the  same  manner  as  for  a  single-cyl- 
inder engine. 

The  Lubrication — The  lubrication  of  the  engine  is  of  the 
greatest  importance,  and  this  should  therefore  he  looked  to 
with  a  very  critical  eye.  The  methods  of  supplying  lubricant 
are  varied.  In  some  engines  the  oil  is  passed  through  to  the 
crank  chamber  in  quantities  by  means  of  a  force  pump;  in 
others  it  is  supplied  regularly  drop  by  drop  by  a  drip  lubri- 
cator. These  are  the  more  useful  methods.  With  the  force 
pump  lubricator  it  is  sufficient  to  see  that  the  pump  is  acting 
correctly,  and  that  its  piping  is  complete  and  not  leaking  at 
any  joints.  In  the  drip  feed  lubricator  a  more  careful  exami- 
nation is  needed,  as  there  are  adjustment  details  to  be  looked 
to,  for  it  is  most  important  that  the  feed  be  regulated  to  suit 
the  fluid  conditions  of  the  oil.  If  the  drip  valves  are  found 
to  act  correctly,  then  look  over  the  pipes  for  dents  or  frac- 
tures. The  pipes  should  in  this  case  be  of  fairly  large  diam- 
eter, so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  free  flowing  of  the  oil. 
There  are  a  variety  of  mechanical  oil  feeds  fitted,  and  these 
should  be  noted  for  correct  functioning  while  the  engine  is 
running. 

Transmission  Considerations — We  next  arrive  at  the  trans- 
mission gear,  but  this  we  must  deal  with  very  broadly,  as  there 
are  so  many  adaptations  of  the  various  systems.  The  first 
part  of  the  transmission  is  the  clutch.  With  the  h'and,  depress 
the  clutch  pedal  and  see  that  the  driven  portion  is  withdrawn 
clear  of  the  driver  without  any  excessive  force  being  used. 
In  the  case  of  leather  to  metal  clutches,  if  the  male  cone  can 
be  withdrawn  sufficiently  to  examine  the  leather  facing,  it 
should  be  seen  if  this  is  in  good  order  and  not  worn  down  too 
thin.  While  the  male  cone  is  out  of  engagement  the  clutch- 
shaft  should  be  tried  for  wear  by  lifting  it  at  the  cone.  It 


180  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

should  also  be  noted  that  there  is  provision  made  for  adjust- 
ing both  the  clutch  and  the  clutch  pedal. 

The  Change  Speed  Gear — It  will  be  necessary  to  lift  the 
lid  off  the  gear-box  to  inspect  the  change  speed  gear  wheels. 
The  teeth  of  these  wheels  should  show  a  brightly  burnished 
surface  on  the  faces,  but  not  on  the  tops  and  bottoms.  By 
faces  is  meant  the  breadth  of  the  teeth  which  engage  with 
the  opposite  wheel.  If  they  show  as  brightly  at  the  tooth  bot- 
tom as  they  do  on  the  faces,  they  have  been  intermeshed  too 
deeply  in  the  first  place,  and  there  is  likely  to  be  excessive 
wear.  If  they  show  dark  or  lightly  touched  surfaces,  they 
have  been  correctly  set,  and  they  should  be  in  good  running 
order;  in  fact,  they  will  probably  be  better  than  new.  Each 
of  the  wheels  should  be  looked  at  all  the  way  round  to  ascer- 
tain that  no  teeth  are  broken.  If  the  sliding  type  of  gear — 
that  is,  a  type  where  the  wheels  are  slid  into  engagement  side- 
wise — be  in  the  car  under  notice,  the  edges  of  the  teeth  should 
be  looked  to.  If  the  car  has  been  in  good  hands,  the  teeth 
will  show  brightly  on  their  engaging  sides ;  but  if  the  driver 
has  been  at  all  clumsy  it  will  probably  be  found  that  the 
teeth  are  badly  chipped  at  these  points. 

The  speed  changing  movements  should  all  be  closely 
watched  while  manipulating  the  actuating  lever.  The  wheels 
on  the  sliding  sleeve  should  move  deliberately  and  accurately 
into  their  corresponding  wheel — that  is,  provided  the  teeth  are 
not  opposite  one  another.  The  edges  of  the  wheels  should  be 
in  a  perfect  line,  not  one  overhanging  the  other ;  if  this  is  the 
case,  it  indicates  a  lot  of  lost  motion  in  the  connections  be- 
tween the  sleeves  and  the  actuating  lever.  A  certain  amount 
of  latitude  is  permissible  here,  but  the  movement  should  not 
be  more  than  what  might  be  termed  "a  little  free."  If  there 
is  a  lot  of  backlash  there  is  something  wrong  somewhere,  and 
it  should  be  carefully  looked  for  with  a  view  of  correction.  If 
the  total  width  of  one  wheel  exceeds  that  of  the  other,  as  is 
sometimes  the  case,  particularly  with  the  reversing  gear,  then 
it  does  not  follow  that  something  must  necessarily  be  wrong. 

Points  of  Strain  and  Wear — The  bolting  up  of  the  gear-box 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  181 

to  the  frame  also  should  be  inspected,  particularly  for  signs 
of  straining.  Its  oil-retaining  and  dust-excluding  capacities 
should  be  attended  to,  otherwise  trouble  is  likely  to  follow. 
After  the  shaking  up  of  a  few  thousand  miles  the  lid  of  the 
box  sometimes  develops  a  tendency  to  rattle  by  reason  of  the 
catches  working  loose ;  where  studs  or  bolts  and  nuts  are  used 
for  this  purpose,  there  is  no  fear  of  the  lid  coming  adrift. 

The  countershaft  bearings  and  differential  gear  should  be 
looked  to  and  tried  as  far  as  possible,  and  side  chains,  if  any, 
carefully  inspected.  These  and  the  sprocket  wheels  should 
be  examined  most  carefully,  as  they  are  the  last  stage  but  one 
in  the  chain-drive  transmission  system,  and,  moreover,  often 
have  to  run  entirely  exposed.  Hard,  gritty,  sandy  mud  acts 
as  an  abrasive  upon  both  chain  and  sprockets,  cutting  them 
about  very  badly,  if  the  car  has  had  much  running  in  bad 
weather  in  sandy  districts.  The  forward  or  wearing  side  of 
the  teeth  is  likely  in  time  to  become  concave  in  form  instead 
of  convex,  thus  interfering  with  the  chain  leaving  the  wheel 
freely.  As  to  the  chains,  the  principal  parts  are  the  side  links 
upon  which  the  greater  strain  comes.  If  these  appear  to  be 
cut  or  distorted  and  want  renewing,  it  should  have  an  effect 
on  the  price  of  the  car. 

The  propeller-shaft  joints,  bevels,  differential  gear  and  driv- 
ing ends  of  the  rear  axle  should  all  be  tested  for  play.  How 
to  do  this  properly  should  be  learned  by  every  conscientious 
driver. 

Wear  and  Tear  Considerations — It  should  always  be  borne 
in  mind  that  one  must  discriminate  between  fair  wear  and 
tear  and  bad  usage.  The  results  of  fair  wear  and  tear  will  al- 
ways be  found  in  a  second-hand  car  and  cannot  very  well  be 
objected  to,  but  results  of  bad  usage  should  be  noted  as  likely 
to  cause  future  trouble.  In  such  parts  as  the  steering  gear, 
governor,  carbureter,  ignition  system  and  other  connections 
there  will  usually  be  some  looseness  due  to  use,  and  allowance 
must  be  made  for  this.  It  is  only  excessive  wear,  the  result 
of  misuse,  or  bad  fitting,  that  needs  careful  examination  be- 


182  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

fore  deciding  upon  the  purchase  of  a  second-hand  car  which 
exhibits  such  symptoms. 

When  one  has  examined  a  likely  car  it  is  well  to  make  a 
fairly  liberal  estimate  for  adjustments  and  replacements  which 
may  be  thought  necessary,  and  in  calculating  cost  this  amount 
should  be  added  to  the  purchase  price  of  the  car.  As  already 
stated,  the  sum  required  for  alterations,  repairs  and  replace- 
ments in  a  second-hand  car,  added  to  the  purchase  price,  would 
frequently  suffice  to  buy  a  new  car. 

Choice  of  Tires — The  buyer  of  a  new  car  is  often  offered 
the  option  of  several  kinds  or  makes  of  pneumatic  tires.  As 
the  tire  question  is  a  very  important  one  in  relation  to  auto- 
mobiling  it  is  advisable  that  every  owner  and  intending  pur- 
chaser should  fully  inform  himself  as  to  the  various  styles  and 
brands  of  tire  in  the  market  so  as  to  exercise  a  wise  discre- 
tion in  making  his  choice.  Experience  is  of  course  the  best 
guide  in  this  and  other  matters  connected  with  motoring,  and 
he  who  lacks  personal  experience  must  needs  rely  on  that  of 
his  friends  or  on  the  word  and  reputation  of  the  manufacturer 
and  dealer.  But  it  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  a 
poor  tire  is  dear  at  any  price. 

Reliable  figures  can  be  obtained  as  to  the  proper  size  of 
tire  to  use  on  a  car  of  a  certain  weight  and  horse-power.  The 
objects  sought  for  in  selecting  a  size  of  tire  for  a  car  are 
stated  as  follows: 

1.  To  obtain  the  comfort,  the  absence  of  personal  fatigue, 
and  the  protection  from  wear  and  tear  to  machinery  which 
a  pneumatic  tire  can  give,  while  at  the  same  time  attending 
to  the  considerations  named  in  the  next  two  paragraphs. 

2.  To  avoid  constantly  bursting  the  tire  cover  by  the  wear 
induced  by  excessive  bending  of  the  rubber  and  canvas  side 
walls.    This  occurs  if  the  tire  is  too  slight  in  section  for  the 
load,  the  horse-power  or  the  speed  employed. 

3.  To  secure  just  such  a  size  of  tire  that  the  tire  bill  is  the 
minimum  compatible  with  comfortable  use,  that  is,  not  too 
large  in  section,  nor  of  too  big  a  diameter,  as  this  makes  steer- 
ing difficult  and  is  unnecessarily  expensive  in  first  cost,  and 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  183 

yet  (which  is  far  the  more  common  fault)  not  of  too  small  a 
diameter,  as  the  running  costs  due  to  bursts  then  become  pro- 
hibitive. 


184  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


PART  XV. 

CHANGE  SPEED  GEAR— VARIOUS  FORMS. 

The  internal  combustion  engine  exerts  its  maximum  power 
at  a  constant  speed ;  consequently,  variation  of  pace  is  pos- 
sible only  between  narrow  limits  from  the  motor  itself,  and 
recourse  has  to  be  had  to  the  mechanism  known  as  the  change 
speed  gear,  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessary  range  of  flexi- 
bility required. 

This  consists  fundamentally  of  a  reducing  gear,  by  which 
the  high  rate  of  revolution  of  the  motor  crank  shaft  is  modi- 
fied to  a  lower  speed  on  a  secondary  shaft,  from  which  the 
road  wheels  are  driven.  The  ratio  between  the  rate  of  revo- 
lution of  the  motor  shaft  and  the  speed  of  the  secondary 
shaft  is  capable  of  alteration,  generally  in  a  series  of  steps 
and  between  fixed  limits. 

Ordinary  change  speed  gear,  such  as  is  in  every-day  use 
at  present,  consists  generally  of  a  series  of  gear  wheels  vary- 
ing in  size,  pairs  of  which  can  be  engaged  one  with  another 
whilst  the  remainder  are  idle.  The  mechanical  methods  by 
which  this  can  be  done  are  limited  in  number,  and  the  fol- 
lowing list  indicates  the  broad  headings  under  which  change- 
speed  gear  principles  act: 

1.  By  sliding  the  wheels  into  or  out  of  mesh,  either  sep- 
arately or  on  a  sleeve. 

2.  By  having  the  gears  constantly  in  mesh,  and  determin- 
ing the  working  pair  by  means  of  a  sliding  feather,  which 
locks  any  required  wheels  to  the  shaft. 

3.  Constantly  meshing  gears  rendered  live  by  means  of 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  185 

clutches,  either  frictional  or  expanding,  or  by  positive  or  dog 
clutch  engagements. 

4.  Epicycloidal  gears,  where  the  changes  are  obtained  by 
gripping  and  releasing  the  various  members. 

These  four  classes  comprise  the  standard  systems,  but  al- 
most every  maker  of  note  has  some  specialty  of  his  own, 
which,  though  varying  but  slightly  from  a  standard  pattern, 
would  necessitate  a  lengthy  description  for  its  complete  com- 
prehension. 

The  first  of  these  four  classes  of  change  speed  gear  is  found 
in  the  Panhard  and  other  chain-driven  cars,  is  typical  and 
comprises  simply  a  pair  of  shafts  inclosed  in  an  air-tight  box, 
one  driven  through  the  medium  of  the  friction  clutch  from 
the  engine,  and  the  other  driven  from  the  first  by  means  of 
gear  wheels. 

The  most  satisfactory  arrangement  of  variable  speed  mech- 
anism comprises  a  motor  powerful  enough  to  take  all  small 
gradients  on  the  top  gear,  combined  with  a  transmission  pro- 
viding at  least  two  lower  gears  for  hills  properly  so-called. 

TRANSMISSION  AND  VARIABLE  GEARING. 

Selective  Sliding  Gears. 

The  method  of  sliding  gear  wheels  into  mesh  with  each 
other  endways  seems,  from  an  engineering  point  of  view,  a 
barbarous  system.  It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  in  prac- 
tice it  has  been  proved  most  successful  for  change  speed  gears 
in  motor  cars.  The  different  ways  in  which  this  method  of 
gear  changing  can  be  arranged  is  remarkable,  and  we  shall 
deal  with  several  systems  in  order. 

The  Panhard  Type — The  Panhard  was  the  earliest  example 
of  the  type  of  change  speed  gear  in  which  the  gear  wheels 
were  arranged  to  slide  endways.  It  is  still  used  on  a  num- 
ber of  cars,  and  has  given  remarkable  results,  but  modifica- 
tions of  it  have  lately  been  introduced  which  are  becoming 
rather  more  popular,  though  the  principle  embodied  in  the 
Panhard  gear  is  that  which  is  found  in  practically  every  type 
of  sliding  gear  on  the  market. 


186 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


In  the  accompanying  figures,  which  are  purely  diagram- 
matic, we  have  a  four-speed  Panhard  type  of  gear. 

The  different  figures  from  one  to  four  show  the  gear  in 
operation  in  four  different  speeds ;  as  the  reference  letters 
are  alike  in  the  four  diagrams,  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in 
following  the  procedure. 

Shaft  X  is  the  shaft  which  is  driven  by  the  engine.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  it  is  carried  in  two  bearings — one  at  each 
end  in  the  gear  box,  and  that  between  those  two  bearings 
the  shaft  is  square  shape. 

It  is  on  the  squared  part  of  the  shaft  that  the  four  wheels 
A,  B,  C,  and  D  are  mounted.  They  are  so  mounted  that 


FIG.  i. 


A,  Ai,  Low   speed  wheels. 

B,  Bi,  Second   speed  wheels. 

C,  Ci,  Third   speed   wheels. 


D,  Di,  Top  speed  wheels. 
X,  Primary    Shaft. 
Y,  Secondary  shaft. 


they  can  slide  on  the  square,  being  pushed  along  in  either 
direction  by  a  fork  which  encircles  the  collar  shown  between 
B  and  C.  The  fork  which  operates  this  collar  is  connected 
by  means  of  rods  to  the  change  speed  gear  lever  operated 
by  the  driver. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  A,  B,  C,  and  D  are  always 
relatively  in  the  same  position  to  each  other,  because  they 
are  mounted  on  one  single  sleeve  which  slides  along  the 
squared  part  of  the  shaft  X,  so  that  any  movement  of  the 
collar  in  either  'direction  will  move  the  whole  four  gear 
wheels. 

Outside  of  the  gear  box  is  seen,  in  diagrammatic  form, 
the  male  portion  of  the  clutch  which  puts  shaft  X  into  driv- 
ing communication  with  the  engine  shaft.  X  is  termed  the 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


187 


primary  gear  shaft.  Lying  parallel  with  it,  and  also  in  two 
bearings  in  the  gear  box,  is  shaft  Y,  which  is  termed  the 
secondary  shaft.  It  is  from  shaft  Y  that  power  is  trans- 
mitted to  the  differential  box.  On  Y  are  wheels  Ai,  Ci,  Bi, 
and  Di.  These  wheels  are  of  such  diameters  as  to  mesh 
respectively  with  A,  B,  C,  and  D  on  the  shaft  X.  They  are 
rigidly  attached  to  the  shaft  Y,  and  can  neither  move  around 
nor  along  it.  In  this  respect  they  are  different  from  the 
wheels  A,  B,  C,  and  D  on  shaft  X.  These  wheels  cannot 
move  around  the  shaft,  but  can  move  along  it.  In  the  posi- 
tion shown  in  Fig.  I  the  gear  wheel  A  is  in  mesh  with  gear 
wheel  Ai. 

If,  now,  the  engine  drives  the  shaft  X,  the  wheel  A  will 


FIG.    2.— POSITION    ON    SECOND  SPEED. 


rotate  shaft  Y  through  the  medium  of  Ai,  and  Y  will  rotate 
the  differential  box  and  drive  the  car;  but  since  A  is  con- 
siderably less  in  diameter  than  Ai,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
car  will  travel  comparatively  slowly  relatively  to  the  speed 
of  the  engine  shaft,  which  is  the  speed  of  X.  This  is  the 
low  gear. 

Supposing,  now,  it  is  desired  to  make  the  difference  be- 
tween the  speed  of  the  engine  and  the  speed  of  the  shaft  Y 
relatively  less;  if  we  bring  the  sleeve  carrying  wheels  A, 
D,  C,  and  B  to  the  right  in  our  diagram,  the  wheel  A  will 
come  out  of  mesh  with  Ai,  and  B  will  come  into  mesh  with 
Bi.  Bi  is  smaller  in  diameter  than  Ai,  whife  B  is  larger 
in  diameter  than  A;  therefore,  although  B  is  smaller  than 
BT.  cK^t  Y  will  still  rotate  at  less  speed  than  shaft  X.  This 
will  give  us  the  second  speed.  This  is  shown  in  Fig.  2. 


188 


A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


To  get  on  the  third  speed  we  must  slide  the  sleeve  on 
shaft  X  still  further  to  the  right  until  B  comes  out  of  en- 
gagement with  Bi,  and  C  comes  into  engagement  with  Ci. 
This  is  shown  in  Fig.  3.  It  will  be  seen  here  also  that  Ci  is 
larger  in  diameter  than  C,  so  that  shaft  Y  will  still  be  mov- 


FIG..  3.— POSITION  ON  THIRD  SPEED. 


ing  at  a  less  speed  than  shaft  X,  but  there  will  not  be  so 
great  a  difference  as  in  the  case  of  Fig.  2. 

To  get  on  to  top  gear,  the  sleeve  on  shaft  X  must  be  moved 
still  further  to  the  right  until  D  and  Di  come  into  engage- 
ment with  each  other.  Now,  D  and  Di  are  of  the  same 
diameter,  therefore  shaft  X  and  shaft  Y  will  be  rotating  at 
the  same  speed,  and  the  engine  will  be  driving  the  bevel  pin- 
ion on  the  differential  at  its  own  speed. 


FIG.    4.— POSITION    ON    TOP  SPEED. 

In  this  method  of  arranging  the  sliding  gears  there  can 
never  be  a  position  in  which  the  engine  drives  direct  on  to 
the  shaft  which  drives  the  differential.  That  is  to  say,  there 
is  no  direct  drive  on  the  Panhard  type  of  gear. 

As  regards  the  reverse — which  is  not  shown  in  our  dia- 
gram— there  is  a  wheel  mounted  on  a  third  shaft  which  en- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  189 

gages  with  Ai  and  A  respectively — thus  reversing  the  direc- 
tion of  motion — shafts  X  and  Y  now  revolving  in  the  same 
instead  of  the  opposite  direction  to  each  other.  This  gives 
the  reverse  gear. 

In  the  Panhard  system  (as  used  up  till  very  lately  on  all 
models  of  Panhard  cars,  and  which  has  given  its  name  to  a 
type  of  gear)  it  is  usual  to  have  a  countershaft  with  sprocket 
wheels  and  chain  drive,  and  in  such  cases  the  secondary  shaft 
Y  carries  on  its  end,  and  inside  the  gear  box,  the  bevel  pin- 
ion which  engages  with  the  crown  wheel  on  the  differential 
shaft.  The  same  system  is  adopted  on  other  cars  in  which 
the  shaft  Y  terminates  in  a  universal  joint,  connecting  it  up 
to  either  a  cardan  or  a  propeller  shaft,  and  transmitting  the 
power  to  a  live  axle  which  contains  the  differential. 

The  Mercedes  Type — The  Mercedes  type  of  gear  takes  its 
name  from  a  gear  which  was  introduced  on  one  of  the  ear- 
lier Mercedes  cars.  The  word  "Mercedes"  has  now  become 
a  generic  term  for  gears  which  incorporate  the  system  intro- 
duced by  the  Mercedes  Company.  It  uses  the  sliding  type 
of  gear — the  gears  coming  into  engagement  with  each  other 
endways — but  it  has  this  great  advantage,  that,  by  using  two 
pairs  of  sliding  wheels  instead  of  all  four  sliding  together, 
as  in  the  Panhard  type,  the  shaft  on  which  the  gear  wheels 
are  mounted  can  be  kept  short.  It  has  also  another  distinct 
advantage  in  the  fact  that  a  direct  drive  from  engine  to  back 
axle  can  be  got  without  the  power  having  to  be  transmitted 
through  the  second  shaft.  In  such  cases,  of  course,  instead 
of  having  two  sets  of  gears  in  operation,  only  one  set  is 
used  between  the  engine  and  the  back  axle  on  the  top  speed 
— that  set  is  the  bevel  and  crown  wheel  of  the  differential. 

The  gear  box  of  the  35  h.p.  Talbot  car,  shown  in  Fig.  5, 
may  be  taken  as  an  example  of  the  latest  type  of  the  Mer- 
cedes principle. 

It  will  here  be  seen  that  we  have  a  primary  and  a  sec- 
ondary shaft,  just  as  we  have  in  the  case  of  the  Panhard. 
The  primary  shaft  is  shown  at  PGS,  the  secondary  shaft  at 
SGS.  Sometimes  SGS  is  known  as  the  lay  shaft.  The  pri- 


190 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


mary  gear  shaft  is  not  directly  connected  to  the  engine  or 
the  clutch,  but  at  the  left-hand  end  in  our  illustration  it  will 
be  seen  that  it  is  surrounded  by  the  sleeve  IGS,  which  we 
may  term  the  initial  gear  sleeve.  This  sleeve  is  driven  by 
the  engine,  and,  with  the  gears  in  the  position  shown  in  our 
illustration,  it  is  not  in  connection  at  all  with  the  primary 
gear  shaft  PCS,  but  will  simply  revolve  about  it  on  the  ball 


FIG.     s-  -VERTICAL.    SECTION   OF 
IGS,  Initial  gear  sleeve. 
I  DP,  Intermediate   driving   pinion. 
I  D  W,  Intermediate  driven  wheel. 
S  G  S,  Secondary  gear   shaft. 

1  and  li,  Driving   and   driven  wheels   of   first    speed 

2  and  2i,  Driving  and  driven  wheels  of  second  speed 

3  and  3i,  Driving   and   driven   wheels  of   third   speed. 

4  and  4i,  Driving    and    driven    parts    of    fourth    speed 

direct  driving  clutch. 


TALBOT   GEAR   BOX. 
P  G  S,  Primary  gear  shaft.) 
R  R,  Reverse   pinions.    - 
B  B,  Ball  bearings.- 
T  B,  Thrust  ball  bearings. 
F  W,  Felt  oil-retaining  washers. 
UJ,  Fore  part  of  universal  joint, 
B  D,  Brake   drum. 


U  J  C,  Universal  joint  coupling. 
*  Sj 


Propeller  shaft. 


bearings  B  B.  The  power  from  the  engine  is  transmitted 
to  this  sleeve.  On  its  right-hand  end  it  is  provided  with 
external  and  internal  teeth,  the  external  teeth  being  explained 
by  the  letters  IDP  (which  stand  for  intermediate  driving 
pinion).  Now,  this  pinion  is  in  constant  engagement  with 
the  gear  wheel  IDW  (which  stands  for  intermediate  driven 
wheel)  on  the  secondary  gear  shaft  SGS;  that  is  to  say,  so- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  191 

long  as  the  engine  rotates  the  sleeve  1GS,  it  will  also  ro- 
tate the  gear  wheel  IDW,  and,  therefore,  the  secondary  gear 
shaft  SGS  and  all  the  wheels  upon  it — all  these  four  wheels 
being  permanently  fixed  in  position  and  incapable  of  rotat- 
ing except  with  the  shaft. 

Imagine,  now,  the  gear  in  the  position  we  show  it  and 
the  engine  running.  IGS  is  rotating  and  driving  with  it  at 
a  much  lesser  speed  the  shaft  SGS,  because  the  pinion  IDP 
is  less  in  diameter  than  the  gear  wheel  IDW. 

It  will  be  seen  that  no  gear  wheels  on  the  shaft  SGS  are 
in  gear  with  the  shaft  PGS,  so  that  the  shaft  PGS  will  not 
be  rotated  by  the  engine,  and  as  this  shaft  is  connected  by 
the  universal  joint  UJC  to  the  propeller  shaft  of  the  rear 
axle  PS,  the  engine  will  not  be  driving  the  car. 

On  the  primary  gear  shaft  PGS  are  two  sets  of  gear  wheels. 
On  the  right  are  gear  wheels  ij  and  2lf  which  can  be  slid 
independently  along  the  gear  shaft  because  they  are  on  a 
square  which,  while  preventing  them  rotating,  allows  them 
to  slide  laterally  along  it.  Then  we  have  the  gear  wheels 
3j_  and  4X  on  a  similar  sleeve,  capable  of  sliding  along  the 
shaft,  but  not  rotating  upon  it. 

In  order  to  allow  the  engine  to  drive  the  shaft  PGS,  and 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  shaft  SGS  is  constantly  rotating 
while  the  engine  is  running,  it  is  necessary  to  slide  some 
one  or  other  of  the  wheels  on  shaft  PGS  into  engagement 
with  one  or  other  of  the  wheels  on  shaft  SGS. 

It  will  be  obvious  that  the  smallest  wrheel  on  shaft  SGS, 
if  put  into  engagement  with  the  largest  wheel  on  shaft  PGS, 
will  give  us  the  greatest  difference  between  the  speed  of  the 
two  shafts,  and,  therefore,  the  greatest  difference  between 
the  speed  of  the  engine  and  the  speed  of  the  propeller  shaft 
which  drives  the  car. 

Hence,  by  moving  the  sleeve  which  carries  ij  and  2X  so 
that  the  wheel  ix  comes  into  engagement  with  wheel  I,  we 
get  the  first,  or  lowest,  speed — the  power  being  transmitted 
through  IDP,  IDW,  i  and  i±  to  the  shaft  PGS  and  the 
propeller  shaft  PS. 


192  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

If  the  sleeve  is  moved  to  the  left,  so  that  2X  comes  into 
engagement  with  2,  we  still  have  a  smaller  wheel  on  shaft 
SGS  in  gear  with  a  larger  wheel  on  shaft  PCS;  but  the  dif- 
ference is  less,  and,  therefore,  the  difference  between  the 
speed  of  the  engine  and  the  speed  of  the  car  will  be  reduced. 
This  is  the  second  speed,  the  power  being  transmitted  through 
IDP,  IDW,  2  and  2X  to  shaft  PCS. 

For  forward  speeds  these  are  the  only  two  functions  which 
are  performed  by  the  sleeve  carrying  the  two  wheels  2t 
and  ix. 

If  it  is  desired  to  get  from  the  second  to  the  third  speed, 
the  sleeve  carrying ' 2±  and  ix  must  be  returned  to  a  position 
in  which  neither  of  the  wheels  engage  with  their  correspond- 
ing wheels  on  the  secondary  gear  shaft.  The  gate  mechan- 
ism, which  we  shall  shortly  explain,  allows  us  to  do  this, 
and  to  leave  that  pair  of  wheels  locked  in  the  neutral  posi- 
tion. The  next  movement  of  the  hand-lever  brings  the  wheel 
3±  on  its  sleeve  to  the  right,  so  that  it  gears  with  3  on  the 
secondary  gear  shaft.  The  engine  will  then  drive  through 
IDP,  IDW,  3  and  3^  thus  rotating  the  primary  gear  shaft 
PCS — still  driving  the  car  at  a  reduced  speed  compared  with 
that  of  the  engine.  This  is  the  third  speed. 

For  the  fourth  speed,  in  which  the  engine  will  drive  the 
propeller  shaft  at  the  same  speed  at  which  it  is  turning  it- 
self, we  must  move  the  sleeve  carrying  wheel  ^  and  4X  to 
the  left.  4±  is  not  really  a  gear  wheel,  although  it  is  exactly 
the  same  shape  as  a  gear  wheel,  but  it  meshes  completely 
into  all  the  teeth  of  the  internal  wheel  4,  forming  a  clutch 
between  the  primary  gear  shaft  and  the  initial  gear  sleeve. 
The  engine,  as  before,  will  rotate  the  intermediate  gear  sleeve 
IGS,  and  as  ^  is  completely  housed  in  4,  the  primary  gear 
shaft  PCS  and  the  initial  gear  sleeve  IGS  driven  by  the  en- 
gine become  as  one,  and  rotate  at  the  same  speed;  mean- 
while, the  secondary  gear  shaft  rotates  idly,  having  no  effect 
on  the  transmission  of  the  power. 

As  regards  the  reverse,  there  are  two  wheels  R  and  R 
shown  in  faint  outline.  These  wheels  are  mounted  on  a  sep- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  193 

arate  shaft  underneath  the  primary  and  the  secondary  gear 
shafts.  By  moving  these  two  wheels  R  and  R  to  the  left, 
wheel  R  \vill  come  into  engagement  with  wheel  I  on  the  sec- 
ondary gear  shaft,  while  the  lesser  wheel  R  will  come  into 
engagement  with  wheel  I  on  the  primary  gear  shaft,  thus 
reversing  the  motion,  and  making  the  primary  gear  shaft  ro- 
tate in  the  opposite  direction  to  the  initial  gear  sleeve  driven 
by  the  engine.  This  gives  the  reverse  gear. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  this  gear  the  secondary  gear  shaft, 
with  all  its  wheels,  is  constantly  rotating  even  when  the 
gear  is  so  arranged  that  there  is  a  direct  drive  on  top  gear. 
Several  gears  on  the  Mercedes  principle  have  been  devised 
to  overcome  this  difficulty  and  to  put  the  secondary  gear 
shaft  entirely  out  of  operation  while  the  high  speed  gear  is 
in  operation. 

Gate  Control  Mechanism. 

In  those  types  of  gear  which,  on  the  Mercedes  principle, 
as  we  have  described,  use  two  pairs  of  sliding  wheels  in- 
stead of  only  one  set  of  sliding  wheels,  as  in  the  Panhard,  a 
gate  control  mechanism  is  usually  adopted.  It  will  be  seen 
that  it  is  necessary  that  two  of  the  speeds  utilize  one  pair 
of  sliding  wheels  to  slide  into  engagement  with  one  or 
other  of  two  wheels,  and  that  the  other  two  speeds  use  the 
other  pair  of  sliding  wheels.  This  could  be  achieved  by 
adopting  two  operating  hand  levers,  one  for  each  pair  of 
sliding  gears ;  but  this  would  be  a  disadvantage  in  that  it 
might  confuse  the  driver  at  a  critical  moment,  and  he  might, 
unless  some  intricate  form  of  interlocking  arrangement  were 
fitted,  accidentally  put  two  gears  into  mesh  at  the  same  time. 
In  any  case,  it  would  compel  him  to  move  one  lever  to  dis- 
engage one  set  of  gears,  and  then  move  another  lever  to 
engage  another  set. 

In  order  to  overcome  this  difficulty,  a  gate  change  and 
selector  bar  arrangement  is  usually  applied.  These  appli- 
ances may  be  designed  in  different  ways,  but  the  principle 
underlying  them  all  is  that  which  is  illustrated,  in  a  purely 
diagrammatic  form,  in  Fig.  6.  A  is  the  change  speed  lever 

13 


194 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


on  the  end  of  the  shaft  F,  which  is  free  to  oscillate  in  a  sleeve 
G,  or  any  bearing  equivalent  to  the  sleeve  G,  which  is  at- 
tached to  some  part  of  the  car.  It  is  also  free  to  move  end- 
ways inside  the  sleeve  G.  The  extent  of  its  oscillation  in  G 
is  determined  by  the  length  of  the  slots  in  quadrant  B,  through 
which  the  lever  passes.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  quadrant  B 
has  two  slots  C  and  D,  with  a  gate  between  them  E.  Now, 
the  lever  can  only  pass  through  from  one  slot  to  the  other 
when  it  is  in  a  position  opposite  to  E,  so  that  the  combined 


FIG.  G  .-DIAGRAMMATIC  VIEW  OF  A  SELECTOR  BAR  AND  GATE 
CONTROL  MECHANISM. 


A,  Change  speed  lever. 

B,  Quadrant    through    which    lever 

A  moves. 

C  and  D,  Slots     in     the     quadrant 
through  which  the  lever  moves. 

E,  Gate    or    opening    between    the 

two  slots  in  quadrant  B. 

F,  Oscillating  shaft  to  which  levers 

A  and  K  are  rigidly  attached. 
'G,  Sleeve    through   which    shaft   F 
may   be    moved    endways    and 
in  which  it  may  be  oscillated. 


H,  One  of  the  selector  bars. 

J,  The  other  selector  bar. 

K,  Selector    lever    operating    bars 

H  and  J. 

L,  Slot  in  selector  bar  J. 
M,  Slot  in  selector  bar  H. 
N  and  O,  Forks  on  the  selector 

bars   H    and   J    which    engage 

with  the  sliding  wheels  in  the 

gear  box. 


width  of  the  two  slots  determines  the  distance  of  travel  of 
which  the  shaft  F  is  capable  inside  the  sleeve  G. 

At  the  other  end  of  shaft  F  is  seen  a  lever  K,  which  is 
rigidly  attached  to  it,  and  this  lever  K  not  only  oscillates 
with  the  oscillation  of  the  shaft  F,  but  is  also  moved  end- 
ways with  F.  H  and  J  are  two  bars  which  are  free  to  slide 
endways  in  guides,  which,  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  are  not 
shown  in  our  diagram.  These  bars  have  projecting  from 
them  slotted  lugs  L  and  M.  These  slotted  lugs  are  of  such 
a  shape  that  the  end  of  the  lever  K  can  be  moved  into  them 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  195 

endways,  and  will  engage  with  them  in  such  a  way  that  they 
can  be  moved  lengthways  by  any  movement  of  the  lever  K. 
These  bars  are  known  as  "selector  bars,"  and  the  lever  K  as 
the  "selector  lever."  It  is  the  function  of  lever  K  to  select 
and  operate  the  gear  wheels  which  it  is  required  to  move. 

The  bar  H  has,  formed  with  it,  an  arm  having  at  its  end 
a  fork  N.  This  fork  engages  with  a  collar  on  one  pair  of 
sliding  wheels  in  the  gear  box.  Similarly,  the  bar  J  has 
an  arm  terminating  in  a  fork  O,  which  engages  with  the 
collar  on  the  other  pair  of  sliding  gears  in  the  gear  box.  In 
the  position  shown  the  gear  change  lever  A  is  in  the  for- 
ward slot  in  the  quadrant,  so  that  the  lever  K  is  in  engage- 
ment with  the  slot  in  the  bar  H.  By  moving  the  lever  back- 
ward and  forward  in  the  slot  D  in  the  quadrant,  the  bar  H 
will  be  moved  backward  and  forward,  and  will,  of  course, 
carry  with  it,  through  the  medium  of  the  fork  N,  one  pair 
of  gear  wheels.  When  lever  A  is  in  the  forward  position  in 
the  slot  D,  one  of  these  gear  wheels  will  be  in  engagement 
with  a  gear  wheel  on  the  secondary  shaft.  Similarly,  when 
it  is  moved  to  the  left-hand  end  of  the  slot,  it  will  cause  the 
other  wheel  of  the  pair  to  engage  with  another  wheel  on  the 
secondary  shaft.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  will  give  two  dif- 
ferent gears. 

When  lever  A  is  moved  into  such  a  position  that  it  comes 
opposite  the  gate  E  between  the  two  slots  C  and  D,  this  par- 
ticular pair  of  wheels  which  the  bar  H  controls  will  be  in  a 
position  in  which  they  are  out  of  engagement  with  their  fel- 
low-wheels on  the  secondary  shaft.  When  in  that  position; 
the  slot  M  in  bar  H  will  come  opposite  the  slot  L  in  bar 
J.  If,  now,  the  lever  is  pushed  through  the  gate  E  into  the 
slot  C,  the  lever  K  will  similarly  be  pushed  through  out  of 
slot  M  in  bar  H  into  slot  L  in  bar  J.  Bar  H  will  then  be  left 
in  the  same  position  in  which  bar  J  is  in  our  illustration,  and 
the  operation  of  the  hand  lever  A  will  only  control  the  bar 
J;  that  is  to  say,  the  lever  has  been  made  to  select  another 
bar  in  place  of  bar  H.  If,  now,  the  lever  is  operated  as  be- 
fore (but,  of  course,  in  this  case  in  slot  C  of  the  quadrant), 


196  A  UTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

bar  L  will  be  moved  backward  and  forward,  and,  through 
the  medium  of  the  fork  O  attached  to  it,  it  will  mov~  the 
second  pair  of  sliding  wheels.  When  in  the  forward  posi- 
tion, it  will  engage  one  wheel  with  its  fellow  on  the  second- 
ary shaft.  When  it  is  in  the  backward  position,  it  will  en- 
gage the  other  wheel  of  the  pair  with  its  fellow  on  the  sec- 
ondary shaft.  In  order  that  while  one  bar  is  being  operated 
and  the  other  lies  idle  the  second  one  cannot  be  moved  so  as 
to  engage  the  other  pair  of  wheels,  spring  tops  are  usually 
provided  which  hold  the  bar  not  in  operation  so  that  it  can- 
not move  endways,  so  as  to  prevent  two  gears  being  put  into 
operation  at  the  same  time,  which,  of  course,  would  be  dis- 
astrous. 

To  make  our  diagram  as  simple  as  possible,  we  have  left 
out  the  arrangement  for  the  reverse,  but  this  consists  of  a 
third  slot  in  the  quadrant  parallel  with  the  slots  C  and  D, 
and  also  having  a  gate  similar  to  E  through  which  the  hand 
lever  can  be  pushed.  It  can  easily  be  imagined  that  lever 
K  will  then  be  carried  past  the  slot  in  the  bar  L  into  a  slot 
in  a  third  bar  which  operates  the  gear  wheel  which  gives 
the  reverse  motion. 

It  will  be  understood  that  the  action  of  this  device  is  such 
that  the  lever  cannot  be  moved  from  one  slot  to  the  other 
without  leaving  the  bar,  with  which  it  formerly  engaged,  in 
the  neutral  position,  and  the  wheels  consequently  out  of  gear. 

This  selector  bar  arrangement  is  carried  out  in  different 
ways  on  different  cars.  Sometimes  the  whole  arrangement 
is  incorporated  in  the  gear  box;  in  other  cases  the  selector 
bars  and  the  selector  lever  are  arranged  in  a  separate  case, 
and  the  rods  are  extended  from  this  case  to  the  gear  box. 

Friction  Gearing. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  get  a  variable  gear  for 
motor  cars  which  would  give  an  infinite  variation  between 
maximum  and  minimum,  and  this  has  generally  been  done 
by  adopting  some  sort  of  friction  drive.  The  friction  of  the 
periphery  of  one  wheel  on  the  face  of  another,  and  sliding 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


197 


the  one  wheel  across  the  other,  has  been  utilized  on  many 
occasions.  In  its  simplest  form  this  gear  is  shown  in  Figs. 
7  and  8.  Fig.  7  represents  it  in  plan  and  Fig.  8  in  elevation. 


FIGS,   f  AND  ft.— A  SIMPLE  FRICTION' CHANGE  SPEED  GEAR. 
A,  Flat     faced     wheel     driven     by       D  and  E,  Bearings  carrying  shaft  <X 

F,  Chain-    sprocket      to      transmit 

power. 

G,  Collar  for  moving  wheel  B. 


engine. 

B,  Friction    wheel     sliding    across 

C,  Shaft     which     carries     friction       H,'  Collar  and  spring  pressing  wheel' 

wheel  B. 


A  up  against  wheel  B. 

In  both  figures  A  represents  a  large  wheel  with  a  flat  face, 
driven  by  the  engine.  B  represents  a  wheel  having  on  its 
periphery  a  leather  friction  surface,  which  comes  in  contact 


198  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

with  the  wheel  A — best  shown  in  the  plain  view,  Fig.  7.  B 
is  mounted  on  a  shaft  C,  and  this  shaft  is  carried  in  bearings 
D  and  E,  and  at  one  end  a  chain  wheel  F  is  keyed  to  it,  by 
means  of  which  the  power  is  transmitted  to  the  differential. 
B  is  capable  of  sliding  along  the  shaft  C,  which  at  that  part 
is  square,  but  not  of  rotating  upon  it.  It  is  slid  along  the 
shaft  by  means  of  the  collar  G.  H  is  a  coil  spring  which 
presses  the  engine-driven  wheel  A  up  against  the  friction 
wheel  B. 

By  moving  B  along  the  face  of  A,  different  ratios  of  gear- 
ing between  the  shaft  which  carries  A  and  the  shaft  which 
carries  B  may  be  obtained,  and,  therefore,  different  ratios  be- 
tween the  engine  and  the  road  wheels.  If  the  friction  wheel 
B  is  moved  right  across  the  center  of  the  wheel  A  to  the  op- 
posite side,  it  is  obvious  that  it  will  be  driven  in  a  reverse 
direction,  which  gives  the  reverse  gear.  A  lever  is  used  to 
operate  the  sliding  wheel  B,  and  another  lever  is  used  to 
take  off  the  pressure  of  the  spring  H  so  as  to  release  fric- 
tional  pressure  between  A  and  B,  thus  acting  as  a  clutch. 
The  pressure  may  be  taken  off  when  changing  the  gear, 
though  in  this  type  of  gear  it  is  not  always  necessary.  Our 
diagrams  show  only  a  very  simple  arrangement  of  this  kind 
of  change  speed  gear,  but,  however  carried  out  in  practice, 
the  principle  remains  the  same. 

Chain  Drive  Gearing. 

There  are  two  principal  systems  of  transmission,  known 
respectively  as  the  chain  drive  and  the  gear  drive.  In  the 
former  the  crankshaft  of  the  motor  is  arranged  lengthwise 
of  the  car,  the  variable  speed  gear  box  comes  behind  the 
clutch,  and  motion  is  communicated  to  a  transverse,  balance- 
geared  shaft,  the  ends  of  which  are  connected  by  chain  gear- 
ing with  the  respective  driving  road  wheels.  The  greater 
part  of  the  clutchshaft  is  of  square  section,  and  on  this  part 
is  mounted  a  sleeve  furnished  with  four  spur  wheels  of  dif- 
ferent diameters.  Another  shaft,  called  the  gearshaft,  is  set 
parallel  to  the  clutchshaft  and  has  fixed  to  it  four  spur  wheels, 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  199 

proportioned  to  those  on  the  sleeve.  The  sleeve  can  be 
moved  lengthwise,  by  a  hand  lever,  so  as  to  bring  any  one 
wheel  thereon  into  engagement  with  the  fellow  wheel  on  the 
gearshaft.  The  different  wheels  in  each  set  are  so  spaced 
apart  that  it  is  impossible  to  engage  two  pairs  of  wheels  at 
the  same  time.  So  in  changing  from  one  gear  to  another 
the  parts  pass  through  an  "out  of  gear"  position;  and  this 
is  how  they  must  be  set  for  starting  the  motor,  and  also  for 
allowing  the  motor  to  run  while  the  car  is  making  a  tem- 
porary stop.  Otherwise  it  would  be  necessary  to  hold  the 
clutch  out  of  engagement  all  the  while  the  car  was  stopped 
and  the  engine  running. 

The  average  size  of  the  wheels  on  the  sleeve  is  less  than 
the  average  size  of  the  wheels  on  the  gearshaft,  so  that,  as 
a  rule,  part  of  the  gear  reduction  between  the  motor  and  the 
road  wheels  is  made  here.  When  the  largest  wheel  on  the 
sleeve  is  meshed  with  the  smallest  wheel  on  the  gearshaft  the 
car  will  be  driven  at  its  highest  (in  this  case  the  fourth)  speed. 
And  as  each  smaller  gear  wheel  on  the  sleeve  is  meshed  with 
its  fellow  on  the  gearshaft,  the  gear  will  be  reduced,  through 
the  third  and  second  speeds  to  the  first  speed,  in  turn.  The 
"first"  speed  means  the  lowest  in  automobiling.  On  the  rear 
end  of  the  gearshaft  is  a  bevel  wheel  which  gears  with  a  cor- 
responding bevel  wheel  on  the  balance-geared  countershaft. 

The  Reverse  Motion. 

The  reverse  motion  in  a  chain  drive  gear  is  often  obtained 
by  bringing  a  third  wheel  or  pinion  into  gear  with  a  wheel 
on  the  sleeve  and  a  wheel  on  the  gearshaft,  these  two  wheels 
being  of  such  sizes  that  they  cannot  mesh  directly  with  each 
other.  The  introduction  of  the  pinion,  of  course,  causes  the 
sleeve  and  the  gearshaft  to  turn  in  the  same  direction ;  while, 
when  the  other  wheels  thereon  engage  directly  with  each 
other,  they  turn  in  opposite  directions.  The  later  form  of 
reversing  gear  only  provides  one  backward  speed,  and  this 
should  be  a  slow  one ;  indeed,  it  is  best  to  make  it  a  lower 
gear  than  any  of  the  forward  ones,  as  then  if  a  hill  is  en- 


200  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

countered  that  even  the  first  forward  speed  is  too  high  for, 
the  car  can  sometimes  be  driven  up  backward.  The  old 
form  of  reversing  gear  gave  as  many  speeds  backward  as 
forward,  and  most,  if  not  all,  of  them  were  too  high  for  ordi- 
nary use.  The  driver  who  accidentally  reversed  on  his  fourth 
speed  had  quite  an  exciting  time  of  it. 

The  Side  Chains. 

The  outer  ends  of  the  balance-geared  cross-shaft  or  counter- 
shaft are  generally  separate  from  and  coupled  up  to  the  main 
portions  by  flexible  joints.  A  chain  wheel  or  sprocket  is 
fixed  to  each  of  these  end  pieces,  and  corresponding  chain 
wheels  are  mounted  on  the  driving  road  wheels,  which  turn 
freely  on  a  fixed  axle.  Endless  pitch  chains  run  round  the 
pairs  of  chain  wheels.  Adjustable  "radius  rods"  are  provided 
for  keeping  the  wheels  of  each  chain  at  a  fixed  distance  apart, 
notwithstanding  the  movement  of  the  carriage  springs ;  and 
these  rods  also  provide  means  for  adjusting  the  tension  of 
the  chains.  The  chains  being  so  close  to  the  road  wheels 
were  very  much  exposed  to  wet,  dirt  and  grit,  and  conse- 
quently often  wore  out  quickly,  but  in  modern  cars  they  are 
satisfactorily  incased.  A  further  reduction  of  the  speed  ratio 
is  made  in  the  chain  gearing,  the  sprockets  on  the  counter- 
shaft being  smaller  than  those  on  the  road  wheels. 

The  original  chain  drive  gear  being  very  bulky,  attempts 
have  been  made  to  modify  it  so  as  to  reduce  the  size.  One 
of  the  most  successful  consists  in  dividing  the  sleeve  into 
two  parts.  This  allows  the  spacing  apart  of  the  wheels  to 
be  reduced,  and  also  enables  the  gear  to  be  changed  from 
one  speed  to  another  without  passing  through  the  intermedi- 
ate gears. 

Another  device  consists  in  packing  the  wheels  in  each  set 
close  together  and  arranging  the  respective  pairs  in  perma- 
nent engagement.  All  the  wheels  on  one  of  the  shafts  are 
normally  loose,  and  each  is  fixed  as  required  by  a  rod  carry- 
ing a  key  or  feather  sliding  in  the  shaft.  This  is  very  com- 
pact, and  it  gets  over  the  sliding  of  the  wheels  into  mesh 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  201 

with  one  another,  but  the  strains  on  the  key  and  keyways 
are  very  severe,  though  removed  from  the  teeth. 

The  chain  drive  type  of  gearing  is  seldom  found  except  on 
the  larger  cars  and  those  of  the  buggy  type. 

The  Gear  Drive. 

The  cardan,  arbor,  propeller-shaft  or  live-axle  gear  is  com- 
mon on  light  cars  and  has  made  very  rapid  headway  on  the 
heavy  ones.  The  arrangement  of  the  motor  and  clutch  is 
similar  to  that  described  above,  but  the  variable  speed  gear 
is  devised  with  the  clutchshaft  and  gearshaft  in  line ;  and  for 
the  top  speed  these  two  shafts  are  coupled  together  and  ro- 
tate as  one,  the  power  being  transmitted  direct  instead  of 
through  spur  wheels.  There  are  at  least  three  speeds  for- 
ward and  one  reverse,  the  two  lower  speeds  and  the  reverse 
being  obtained  by  the  spur  wheels.  The  construction  is  very 
ingenious,  and  may  be  described  thus :  The  rear  end  of  the 
clutchshaft  and  the  forward  end  of  the  gearshaft  telescope 
into  each  other.  The  gearshaft  is  made  of  square  section,  and 
on  it  is  mounted  a  sleeve  carrying  two  spur  wheels  of  dif- 
ferent sizes.  On  the  forward  end  of  the  sleeve  are  two  strong 
dogs  or  projections,  while  on  the  rear  end  of  the  clutchshaft 
is  fixed  a  wide  spur  pinion  having  two  recesses  in  its  back 
face.  A  second  gearshaft  is  mounted  parallel  to  the  first, 
and  on  this  are  fixed  three  forward  spur  wheels  correspond- 
ing in  diameter  to  the  two  on  the  first  gearshaft  and  the 
one  on  the  clutchshaft. 

For  the  top  speed  the  clutchshaft  and  first  gearshaft  are 
coupled  together  by  moving  the  sleeve  forward  until  the 
dogs  thereon  enter  the  recesses  in  the  spur  wheel  on  the 
clutchshaft.  This  is  the  "direct  drive,"  and  is  so  called  be- 
cause no  power  is  lost  by  transmitting  it  through  the  second 
gearshaft ;  indeed,  in  some  forms  of  the  gear,  the  second  shaft 
is  not  even  rotated  when  the  top  speed  is  in.  For  the  two 
lower  speeds,  the  sleeve  is  moved  back  so  as  to  disengage 
the  dog  clutch  and  bring  one  of  the  wheels  on  the  sleeve 
into  gear  with  the  fellow  wheel  on  the  second  shaft.  Now 


202  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

the  power  is  transmitted  from  the  pinion  on  the  clutchshaft 
to  the  largest  wheel  of  the  second  shaft,  and  then  back  from 
one  of  the  smaller  wheels  on  this  shaft  to  the  wheel  in  gear 
with  it  on  the  sleeve,  and  so  to  the  first  gearshaft.  This  is 
not  unlike  the  backgear  of  a  lathe.  For  reversing  purposes 
a  fourth  wheel  on  the  second  shaft  is  geared  with  the  larger 
wheel  on  the  sleeve  through  an  intermediate  wheel. 

This  form  of  variable  gear  is  now  often  employed  in  con- 
junction with  a  balance  geared  cross-shaft  and  side-chains. 
On  powerful  cars  it  is  not  infrequently  modified  to  give  four 
speeds,  and  then  the  third  speed  is  sometimes  made  to  give 
the  direct  drive,  if  the  fourth  is  too  high  for  general  use. 

In  nearly  all  cars  the  gear  is  changed  by  a  hand  lever 
pivoted  at  the  right-hand  side  of  the  frame  and  working  in  a 
slotted  quadrant.  Recesses  in  the  quadrant  receive  a  safety 
catch  worked  by  a  finger  lever  on  the  hand  lever,  and  hold 
the  latter  in  the  different  positions  to  which  it  is  set  in  chang- 
ing gear.  The  gate-change  quadrant  is  so  called  from  its 
having  twTo  or  more  slots  side  by  side,  and  an  opening  or  gate 
between  them  through  which  the  lever  is  moved  with  a  lat- 
eral motion  in  passing  from  one  slot  to  the  other.  In  this 
case  the  different  gear  sleeves  have  separate  forks  and  actu- 
ating rods  which  are  selected  by  the  hand  lever  and  its  con- 
nections as  the  lever  is  moved  sideways.  Strong  spring  re- 
tainers should  be  fitted  for  automatically  locking  the  rods, 
forks  and  gear  sleeves  that  are  not  at  the  moment  under  the 
direct  control  of  the  hand  lever. 

A  special  catch  of  some  sort  should  be  provided  to  pre- 
vent the  gear  lever  being  moved  so  as  to  bring  the  reverse 
into  action  in  mistake  for  one  of  the  forward  gears. 

The   Live   Axle. 

To  the  rear  end  of  the  first  gearshaft  is  connected,  by  a 
universal  joint,  the  cardan-shaft  proper.  The  power  is  trans- 
mitted to  the  balance-geared  axle  by  bevel  or  by  worm  gear- 
ing, and  the  speed  reduction  between  the  motor  and  road 
wheels  is  made  at  this  point,  the  bevel  pinion  on  the  cardan- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  203 

shaft  being  only  a  fraction  of  the  size  of  the  bevel  wheel  on 
the  balance  gear  casing.  Sometimes  a  second  universal  joint 
is  introduced  near  the  rear  end  of  the  cardan-shaft.  To  be 
really  universal,  the  two  axes  of  the  joint  should  intersect, 
but  this  is  seldom  the  case,  and  it  is  not  of  great  importance. 
The  joints  are  used  to  compensate  for  the  movement  of  the 
springs,  which,  of  course,  in  this  case,  come  between  the  road 
wheels  and  the  frame  on  which  the  variable  gear  box  is 
mounted.  The  parts  of  the  shaft  should  be  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible in  line  during  average  running  conditions;  otherwise, 
an  excessive  amount  of  work  will  be  put  on  the  joint  or 
joints.  Some  longitudinal  play  should  also  be  provided  for 
in  the  shaft. 

In  this  type  of  transmission  the  road  wheels  are  driven  di- 
rect by  the  parts  of  the  balance-geared  axle,  which  is  called 
a  "live  axle"  to  distinguish  it  from  the  non-rotating  axle  on 
which  the  road  wheels  revolve  in  a  chain-geared  car.  The 
parts  of  the  live  axle  are  mounted  in  bearings  in  a  tubular 
casing,  which  is  in  turn  secured  to  the  rear  springs,  and  thus 
to  the  frame  of  the  car.  The  casing  is  enlarged  centrally 
to  inclose  the  balance  gear  and  driving  bevel  wheel,  and  also 
to  inclose  and  provide  a  bearing  for  the  bevel  pinion.  In 
fact,  a  bearing  ought  to  be,  and  often  is,  provided  for  the 
tail  end  of  the  cardan-shaft  both  in  front  of  and  behind  the 
pinion,  as  it  is  very  important  that  the  relative  positions  of 
the  bevel  pinion  and  bevel  wheel  should  be  perfectly  main- 
tained. Not  only  is  there  a  tendency  for  the  bevel  wheels 
to  push  apart,  but,  owing  to  the  resistance  to  propulsion  of- 
fered by  the  road  wheels,  the  pinion  tries  to  climb  up  the 
bevel  wheel,  and  so  rotate  the  axle  casing.  This  should  be 
met  by  providing  the  casing  with  a  radial  arm,  which  should 
extend  forward  about  as  far  as  the  forward  universal  joint  in 
the  cardan-shaft,  where  it  should  be  connected  firmly,  or  with 
a  small  amount  of  elasticity,  to  the  car  frame.  A  neat  way 
of  resisting  the  rotative  tendency  of  the  live  axle  casing  is  to 
dispense  with  the  rear  universal  joint  and  continue  the  part 
of  the  casing  containing  the  tail  of  the  shaft,  along  the  shaft, 


204  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

nearly  to  the  front  universal  joint.    This  answers  the  purpose 
well,  and  makes  for  simplicity  at  the  same  time. 

The  Gear-box. 

The  spur  wheels  of  the  change  speed  gear  are  inclosed  in  a 
gear-box,  which  serves  several  purposes:  first,  to  provide  a 
framework  in  which  the  spindles  may  be  mounted  in  bear- 
ings of  fixed  relative  position ;  second,  to  exclude  dirt  and 
wet,  and,  third,  to  hold  a  quantity  of  gear-case  oil  for  lubri- 
cating the  wheel  teeth.  The  spindle  bearings  are  usually  lu- 
bricated with  oil  through  pipes  leading  from  the  lubricator 
on  the  dashboard.  The  balance  gear  is  similarly  inclosed  and 
lubricated. 

Control  of  the   Gear. 

The  principle  on  which  most  modern  gears  are  modeled  is 
described  above,  but  there  are  many  variations.  The  most 
popular  consists  in  having  two  sliding  sleeves  instead  of  one. 
There  are  several  advantages  in  this.  The  shafts  can  be  made 
much  smaller,  which  minimizes  the  tendency  to  spring  and 
reduces  the  ncise  in  the  gears.  The  gear-box,  too,  can  be 
made  neater  and  lighter. 

In  the  two  sliding  sleeves  type  of  gear,  of  course,  there  is 
a  shifting  fork  for  each  pair  of  sliding  gears,  as  well  as  for 
the  reverse.  In  order  that  these  three  forks  can  be  operated 
by  one  lever,  and  so  that  no  two  sets  of  gears  can  be  put  into 
engagement  at  the  same  time,  which  would  entail  serious 
damage  to  the  mechanism,  what  is  known  as  the  gate  con- 
trol is  used. 

The  hand  lever  at  the  side  of  the  car,  which  is  used  to  op- 
erate the  change  speed  gear,  works  in  a  quadrant  having  three 
parallel  slots  with  a  short  cross  slot  joining  them.  The  lever 
cannot  only  be  moved  forward  and  backward,  but  also  can 
be  slid  sideways,  carrying  with  it  the  short  lever  which  en- 
gages with  the  three  rods  which  operate  the  three  sliding 
forks  of  the  gear.  Each  rod  has  at  its  end  a  claw  or  slot, 
and  as  the  lever  is  moved  sideways  through  the  slot  con- 
necting the  three  parallel  slots  in  the  quadrant,  it  engages 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  205 

with  one  or  the  other  of  the  three  claws.  Until  the  lever  is 
moved  into  a  position  where  it  can  be  pulled  through  from 
one  slot  to  the  other  it  cannot,  of  course,  be  disconnected 
from  the  claw  and  rod  which  it  is  operating,  and  when  it  is 
moved  into  such  position  the  rod  is  so  situated  that  the  pair 
of  gears  it  operates  are  not  in  mesh  with  any  other  wheel. 

Direct  Drive  on  Top  Speed. 

A  variation  of  the  gear  wheel  sliding  type  of  change  speed 
which  has  proved  very  popular  is  that  in  which  the  drive  is 
direct  on  the  top  speed.  In  this  the  drive  is  taken  from  the 
end  of  the  primary  gearshaft  to  the  countershaft  or  propeller 
shaft  as  the  case  may  be,  and  is  absolutely  direct  from  the 
engine  on  the  top  speed.  On  the  other  speeds  the  drive  is 
transmitted  from  the  forward  portion  of  the  primary  shaft  to 
the  secondary  shaft,  and  thence  back  to  the  rear  portion  of 
the  primary  shaft.  From  this  point  it  is  transmitted  in  the 
usual  way.  In  this  arrangement  the  direct  drive  on  top  speed 
is  noiseless  and  particularly  efficient,  for  the  drive  is  not 
transmitted  through  any  of  the  gear  wheels,  and  there  is  one 
less  change  of  direction  than  in  'the  chain-driven  type.  On 
the  other  speeds,  however,  there  is  one  additional  change  of 
direction  as  compared  with  the  chain-driven  type,  and  an 
additional  pair  of  gear  wheels  is  in  operation,  causing  in- 
creased friction  and  noise. 

Some  designers  arrange  for  having  the  third  speed  direct 
instead  of  the  fourth,  and  this  variation  has  something  to 
recommend  it,  for,  with  a  third  speed  a  little  higher  than 
usual  it  practically  becomes  the  normal,  and  the  high  speed 
is  only  used  when  the  drive  is  comparatively  light,  and  a 
little  extra  friction  is  not  of  so  much  consequence.  Besides, 
the  large  gear  wheels  of  the  high  speed  do  not  make  as  much 
noise  as  the  smaller  gear  wheels  of  an  indirect  third  would  do. 

A  variation  which  has  been  adopted  by  some  important 
firms  has  a  good  deal  to  recommend  it  and  seems  likely  to 
become  more  popular.  Its  object  is  to  combine  the  advan- 
tages of  both  the  leading  types ;  that  is  to  say,  while  the 


206  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

drive  is  direct  on  the  top  speed  there  is  only  a  single  change 
of  direction  in  the  others,  as  in  the  case  of  the  standard  Pan- 
hard  type.  This  variation  is  fitted  to  Mercedes  cars. 

Direct  Drive  on  all  Speeds. 

There  are  certain  cars  which  have  a  direct  drive  on  all 
three  speeds,  and  the  arrangement  may  be  described  as  fol- 
lows: The  change  speed  gear-box  is  on  the  back  axle.  The 
propeller  shaft  has  mounted  on  its  extremity  three  bevel  pin- 
ions which  mesh  with  three  bevel  wheels  of  different  sizes  on 
the  live  back  axle.  These  bevel  wheels  are  free  to  revolve 
on  the  axle  unless  locked  to  it  by  a  sliding  expanding  star 
key.  A  change  of  speed  is  effected  by  locking  each  set  of 
these  wheels  alternately  to  the  axle,  the  other  two  meanwhile 
running  free.  Another  bevel  wheel  mounted  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  live  axle  from  the  three  loose  bevels  similarly  gives 
the  reverse  when  locked  to  the  live  axle.  The  gear  is  in  the 
out-of-drive  or  neutral  position  when  none  of  the  bevel  wheels 
are  locked  to  the  live  axle. 

Gears  in  Mesh  and  Sliding  Feather. 

The  sliding  feather  engagement  consists  of  an  arrange- 
ment, as  the  name  indicates,  of  sliding  feathers  which  de- 
termine which  pair  of  wheels  in  the  gear-box  transmit  the 
power,  all  the  others  running  loose  on  their  shafts  and  being 
constantly  in  mesh. 

Constantly  Meshing  Gears  Operated  by  Clutches. 
There  are  several  types  of  these  operated  respectively  by 
expanding,  positive,  and  frictional  clutch  arrangements.  They 
possess  two  characteristics  in  particular  of  great  value, 
namely,  (i)  very  short  shafts  can  be  adopted,  and  (2)  the 
gear  wheels  being  in  mesh  the  teeth  cannot  be  injured  by 
clumsy  manipulation,  and  the  arrangement  is,  consequently, 
to  a  considerable  extent,  fool-proof. 

The  Expanding  Clutch  System. 

The  De  Dion  gear  may  be  taken  as  an  example  of  this  type. 
On  the  secondary  shaft  are  mounted  clutch  boxes  to  which 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


207 


are  fixed  the  gear  wheels,  both  boxes  and  gear  wheels 
normally  revolving  idly  on  the  shaft.  Inside  the  clutch  boxes 
are  expanding  fiber-faced  clutches  fixed  on  the  shaft  and  op- 
erated by  a  lever  on  the  steering  column  and  a  ratchet  in- 
side the  hollow  shaft.  By  expanding  one  or  other  of  these 
clutches  the  corresponding  box  with  its  gear  wheel  becomes 
fixed  to  the  secondary  shaft,  and  so  communicates  the  drive 
to  the  bevel  pinion  and  then  by  the  bevel  wheel  to  the  rear 
axle. 

The  Friction  Clutch  System. 

This  is  well  exemplified  by  the  change  speed  gear  which 
is  illustrated.     The  diagram  gives  a  sectional  view  through 


/IS. 


5o  +9  49  *7 


3a 


«*       39  38       »7  »»  3"» 

Change   Speed   Gear  with  Friction   Clutch. 

the  center  of  the  gear-box.    It  has  two  forward  speeds  and  a 
reverse. 

No.  55  is  the  primary  shaft  driven  by  the  engine,  and  on 
this  shaft  are  mounted  the  driving  pinions,  6  and  n,  revolv- 
ing always  with  it;  41  is  the  secondary  shaft  on  which  are 
mounted  to  run  freely  the  gear  wheels  46  and  36.  On  the 
shaft  41  is  also  a  pinion  33,  which  is  fixed  to  it,  and  is  always 
revolving,  and  meshes  always  with  the  gear  wheel  15 A,  which 
is  part  of  a  sleeve  156  surrounding  the  right-hand  end  of  the 


208  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

primary  shaft  55,  and  running  in  the  long  bearing  and  free 
to  run  independently  of  the  shaft  55.  At  the  outer  end  of 
this  sleeve  158,  is  the  clutch  150,  its  male  portion  16  engag- 
ing with  it. 

The  two  gear  wheels,  46  and  36,  are  provided  with  clutches 
by  means  of  which  they  can  be  gripped  to  the  shaft.  46  is  in 
constant  mesh  with  a  gear  wheel  not  shown,  which  is  in 
turn  meshed  always  to  the  pinion  6.  36  is  always  in  mesh 
with  ii.  It  will  be  seen  therefore  that  when  the  primary 
shaft  is  rotating,  the  gear  wheels,  46  and  36,  are  also  rotat- 
ing, 46  in  the  same  direction  as  the  primary  shaft,  and  36  in, 
the  opposite  direction.  While  thus  rotating  on  the  shaft  41 
they  run  on  anti-friction  sleeves. 

The  drive  from  the  gear  is  taken  direct  from  the  clutch 
I5c  on  the  sleeve  I5b,  which  is  always  revolving  with  the 
cardan-shaft  and  the  rear  live  axle.  The  shaft  55  revolves 
constantly  with  the  engine,  being  coupled  by  a  flexible  joint 
direct  to  the  flywheel  boss. 

Two  hand-levers  are  used  to  operate  the  gear.  One  for 
the  top  speed,  which  is  direct,  and  the  other  for  the  low 
speed  and  the  reverse,  which  are  by  means  of  the  secondary 
shaft.  These  hand-levers  simply  put  in  and  out  of  operation 
the  three  clutches  which  operate  the  gears. 

We  shall  first  describe  the  drive  on  the  top  speed,  which 
is  direct. 

It  will  be  seen  that  inside  the  gear  wheel  I5a  on  the  sleeve 
I5b  is  a  coned  clutch  male  member  12  which  revolves  with 
the  primary  shaft  55,  but  is  free  to  slide  slightly  along  it. 
A  similar  male  clutch  member  16  is  fixed  at  the  end  of  the 
shaft  55,  and  between  these  two  clutch  members  the  sleeve 
I5b  can  be  rigidly  nipped.  To  bring  the  two  clutch  members 
together  there  are  provided  three  pivoted  dogs  shown  at  52, 
pivoted  on  a  collar  screwed  and  clamped  to  the  shaft  55.  The 
small  ends  of  the  dogs  press  against  a  disk  10,  which  in  turn 
presses  three  pins,  one  of  which  is  shown  at  30.  These  pass 
through  holes  in  the  pinion  wheel  11,  and  in  turn  press 
against  the  male  clutch  member  12.  The  long  ends  of  the 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  209 

dogs  come  into  contact  with  a  sliding  cone  8  on  a  collar  which 
can  slide  along  the  shaft  and  is  operated  by  the  fork  7  con- 
nected with  the  hand  lever. 

When  the  collar  53  is  slid  along  to  the  right  it  lifts  the 
long  ends  of  the  dogs,  the  shorter  ends  pressing  with  consid- 
erable force  against  the  disk  10,  and  drawing  together  the 
two  male  clutch  members  12  and  16,  gripping  the  sleeve  I5b 
firmly  between  them  and  causing  it  to  revolve  with  the  shaft 
55.  This  is  the  top  speed,  with  a  direct  drive  right  through 
from  the  engine  crank  shaft  to  differential  gear  on  the  rear 
axle.  During  the  time  that  the  direct  top  speed  is  in  opera- 
tion it  will  be  understood  that  the  shaft  41  is  revolving,  and 
the  gear  wheels  46  and  36  are  also  revolving  upon  it,  both  at 
different  speeds,  and  one  in  the  opposite  direction  (46). 

We  shall  now  describe  the  operation  of  the  low  gear.  Dur- 
ing this  operation  the  clutch  12-16  is,  of  course,  free,  and  the 
sleeve  I5b  is  free  of  the  primary  shaft.  The  low  speed  is 
driven  by  the  pinion  n,  which  is,  as  we  have  seen,  keyed  to 
the  shaft  55,  and  meshes  with  the  gear  wheel  36,  normally 
running  free  on  the  shaft  41.  This  gear  wheel  36  is  provided 
with  a  clutch  consisting  of  the  male  cone  34  keyed  to  shaft 
41  on  one  side  of  it,  and  a  flat  disk  37  free  to  slide,  but  not 
turn,  upon  the  shaft  41.  Similar  dogs  to  that  described  for 
the  top  gear  clutch,  and  one  of  which  is  shown  at  52,  are 
used  to  force  the  disk  37  up  against  the  back  of  the  gear 
wheel  36,  and  in  turn  to  force  this  into  engagement  with  the 
male  clutch  member  34.  When  this  clutch,  therefore,  is  in 
operation  the  pinion  n  drives  the  gear  wheel  36.  This  be- 
ing now  engaged  with  the  shaft  41  the  latter  revolves  with 
it,  and  the  pinion  33  keyed  upon  it  drives  the  sleeve  I5b 
through  the  medium  of  the  gear  wheel  I5a,  which  is  part  and 
parcel  of  the  sleeve  I5b,  from  which  the  drive  is  direct  to  the 
back  axle.  The  dogs  are  operated  by  the  sliding  cone  43, 
which  in  this  case  is  double-ended,  the  right-hand  end  op- 
erating the  clutch  we  have  just  described,  and  the  left-hand 
end  operating  the  reverse,  with  which  we  shall  now  deal. 

The  reverse  gear  is  driven  by  the  pinion  6  keyed  to  the 


210  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

shaft  55.  This  pinion  drives  a  second  pinion,  which  is  not 
shown  in  our  diagram,  but  which  is,  in  turn,  in  mesh  with  the 
gear  wheel  46,  which  it  consequently  keeps  constantly  turn- 
ing in  the  same  direction  as  the  shaft  55,  but  at  a  lower 
speed.  This  gear  wheel  46  is  also  provided  with  a  clutch  op- 
erated similarly  to  the  low-speed  clutch  by  one  of  the  dogs 
shown  at  52.  When  the  ends  of  these  dogs  are  forced  up  by 
the  movement  of  the  cone  along  the  shaft  they  press  the  flat 
disk  45  up  against  the  flat  face  of  the  gear  wheel  46,  and 
force  it  into  engagement  with  the  male  cone  member  48  rig- 
idly mounted  on  the  shaft.  The  shaft  41  must  then  turn  with 
the  wheel  46  and  in  the  same  direction  and  at  the  same  speed, 
so  that  the  pinion  6  drives  46  (through  the  intermediate  pin- 
ion) in  the  same  direction  as  itself;  46,  being  now  rigid  with 
the  shaft,  transmits  motion  in  the  opposite  direction  through 
the  medium  of  the  pinion  33  to  the  gear  wheel  on  the  sleeve 
I5b,  and  so  drives  the  car  in  the  reverse  direction. 

The  arrangement  of  the  clutches  is  such  that  there  is  no 
end  thrust  on  the  shafts  on  which  they  operate.  The  collars 
which  carry  the  pivoted  dogs  52  are  screwed  on  to  the  shafts, 
and  can  be  adjusted  nearer  or  further  away  from  the  clutches 
by  simply  screwing  them  round.  When  adjusted,  they  are 
clamped  to  the  shaft  by  the  pinching  screws  40  and  19.  The 
clutches  are  kept  normally  out  of  engagement  by  small  helical 
springs  between  the  male  and  female  portions  of  the  clutches. 
Four  of  these  springs  are  shown  in  our  illustration.  In  this 
particular  arrangement  there  is  no  main  clutch.  As  will  be 
seen,  the  engine  can  be  declutched  from  the  car  by  operating 
any  of  the  change  speed  gear  levers. 

Epicycloidal  Gears. 

The  epicyclic  or  "crypto"  type  of  gear  has  come  very  largely 
into  use  for  automobile  transmission  purposes.  The  arrange- 
ments vary  largely,  and  form  the  subject  matter  of  many 
patents,  but,  generally  speaking,  the  gears  approximate  very 
closely  to  one  another,  and  the  changes  of  speed  are  obtained 
by  rendering  different  elements  stationary  or  active. 


'A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING  21 1 

In  one  typical  form  of  epicyclic  gearing  a  center  or  sun 
wheel  is  surrounded  by  an  internally-toothed  wheel  of  con- 
siderably larger  diameter.  One  or  more  planet  pinions  are 
mounted  on  a  carrier  and  gear  with  both  the  other  wheels. 
All  the  wheels  are  in  one  plane  and  form  a  concentric  sys- 
tem. By  locking  the  sun  wheel,  the  internally-toothed  wheel, 
or  the  pinion-carrier  to  either  the  driving  or  the  driven  parts, 
and  by  holding  one  or  other  of  them  stationary,  forward  and 
reverse  motions  can  be  obtained  at  different  ratios.  The 
wheels  are  always  in  mesh,  and  the  changes  of  speed  are 
brought  about  by  the  application  of  brake  bands,  and,  there- 
fore, without  shock. 

A  number  of  transmission  gears  have  been  devised  in  which 
the  motor-shaft  and  other  shafts  are  all  arranged  transversely 
of  the  car  and  so  parallel  to  one  another.  The  various  speeds 
are  generally  obtained  by  means  of  sliding  spur  wheels,  and 
the  motion  is  conveyed  from  shaft  to  shaft  by  chains. 

The  parallel  system  of  transmission  should,  theoretically, 
be  considerably  more  efficient  than  systems  in  which  the 
power  is  carried  round  one  or  more  right  angles,  but  the 
theory  is  not  well  borne  out  in  such  severely  practical  tests 
as  hill-climbing  competitions.  The  restrictions  of  space  make 
it  difficult  to  set  a  large  motor  transversely  of  the  car. 

Belt  Drive  Gearing. 

Other  systems  of  change  speed  gearing  have  been  in  use 
from  time  to  time,  but  are  now  obsolete.  Of  these  the  belt 
drive  was  at  one  time  most  popular,  especially  in  Europe,  in 
connection  with  cars  of  the  Benz  make.  It  had  considerable 
advantages  in  the  way  of  silence,  smoothness  of  working  and 
simplicity;  but  the  constant  stretching,  slipping  and  break- 
ing of  the  belts,  due  largely  to  the  use  of  unsuitable  material 
and  exposure  to  wet  and  mud,  and  some  lack  of  efficiency, 
gradually  led  to  its  abandonment,  though  it  may  possibly 
come  in  again  for  small  cars. 

Usually  the  arrangement  for  belt-drive  comprised  two  pul- 


212  'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

leys  of  unequal  diameters,  securely  keyed  to  the  motor  shaft 
and  driving  a  countershaft,  from  which  the  power  was  trans- 
mitted by  side  chains  to  the  wheels.  The  drums  on  the  mo- 
tor shaft  were  made  double  the  width  of  those  on  the  counter- 
shaft, so  as  to  permit  of  lateral  movement  of  the  driving  belt. 
The  countershaft  pulleys  were  in  pairs,  one  fast  and  the  sec- 
ond loose,  and  set  alternately  with  the  remaining  pulleys 
driven  by  the  other  belt,  so  that  when  the  countershaft  was 
being  driven  from  the  motor  shaft  by,  say,  the  high-speed 
drum,  the  low-speed  belt  was  on  its  loose  pulley  and  out 
of  action. 

The  belts  were  shifted  by  forks  operated  from  the  driver's 
seat,  and  arrangements  were  made  that  the  striking  gear 
should  first  let  both  belts  run  loose,  and  then  set  the  low 
gear  in  operation,  a  further  movement  freeing  the  low  speed, 
and  allowing  the  high  gear  to  come  into  action. 

When  belt-driven  cars  were  in  vogue  attempts  were  made 
to  vary  the  gear  by  regulating  the  amount  of  slip  of  the 
belt.  Experiments  have  since  been  made  with  a  system  of 
driving  by  means  of  a  large  circular  disk,  against  which  is 
pressed  a  leather-faced  wheel,  connected  with  the  counter- 
shaft. 

The  Auto-Mixte  Gear. 

An  idea  which  does  not  come  under  any  of  the  heads  al- 
ready dealt  with  is  to  be  found  in  the  Auto-Mixte,  a  Belgian 
car.  Instead  of  a  change-speed  gear,  a  dynamo  and  accumu- 
lators, or  storage  battery  cells,  are  used,  and  the  clutch  and 
brake  are  magnetic. 

Under  ordinary  conditions,  the  engine  drives  direct  through 
the  armature  of  an  electric  dynamo  to  a  magnetic  clutch  of 
the  disk  type,  and  thence  direct  to  the  rear  live  axle.  The 
dynamo  is  shunt  wound,  and  when  the  load  of  the  engine  is 
light,  part  of  its  power  is  utilized  to  generate  current  in  the 
field  of  the  dynamo,  which  current  is  stored  in  an  accumu- 
lator consisting  of  28  cells  connected  in  series.  When  the 
load  on  the  engine  is  heavy  the  dynamo  may  be  used  as  a 
motor  to  assist  it,  the  current  being  supplied  from  the  ac- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  213 

cumulators.  By  means  of  a  controller  the  speed  can  be  varied 
by  sometimes  letting  the  engine  drive  the  rear  axle  only — 
letting  it  partly  drive  the  rear  axle  and  partly  charge  the  ac- 
cumulator, or  by  letting  it  drive  the  rear  axle,  assisted  by 
the  motor.  The  controller  is  operated  by  a  hand  lever  at  the 
side  of  the  driver  and  suitable  ampere  and  volt  meters  are  ar- 
ranged to  show  exactly  the  condition  electrically  of  the  ac- 
cumulator and  the  dynamo. 

A  specialty  in  this  system  is  the  magnetic  clutch.  The 
end  of  the  motor  shaft  carries  a  large  electro-magnet  facing 
a  flat  disk  mounted  on  the  propeller  shaft.  A  similar  electro- 
magnet is  held  stationary  in  the  car  frame,  and  faces  the 
back  of  the  disk.  When  current  is  passed  through  the  coils 
of  the  motor  shaft  magnets,  they  magnetically  clutch  the 
disk  and  transmit  the  drive.  When  current  is  passed  through 
the  coils  of  the  stationary  magnets  they  similarly  attract  the 
disk  and  act  as  a  powerful  brake.  A  hand  controller,  deter- 
mining the  voltage  of  the  current  passing  through  the  mag- 
net, allows  of  the  engagement  or  disengagement  of  the  clutch 
being  accomplished  gradually. 

The  Art  of  Gear  Changing. 

To  effect  the  change  appropriate  to  the  grade  swiftly  and 
without  noise,  without  loss  of  way  and  without  shock  to  the 
car,  or  accidental  disturbance  of  the  steering,  and  without 
racing  the  engine,  is  generally  supposed  to  constitute  the 
whole  art  of  gear  changing.  It  is  an  important  part,  but  only 
a  part,  for  there  still  remains  the  question  of  making  the 
change  at  exactly  the  right  time. 

When  the  car  on  its  top  gear  comes  to  a  uniformly  graded 
hill,  steep  enough  to  cause  the  speed  to  fall  off  in  spite  of  the 
throttle  having  been  fully  opened  and  the  spark  adjusted  to 
its  best  position,  which  must  be  known,  the  driver  can  at  his 
will  and  discretion  allow  the  engine  to  continue  to  pull  for 
a  considerable  time  on  that  gear,  but  with  the  engine  getting 
gradually  slower  and  consequently  developing  less  and  less 
horse-power.  To  a  certain  extent  this  is  what  he  should  do 


214  A  UTO MOBILE  DRIVING 

to  get  the  best  result  from  his  car,  provided  that  he  changes 
down  to  a  lower  gear  at  that  moment  precisely  when  he  can 
just  maintain  his  speed  with  the  speed  lever  in  the  new  po- 
sition. As  a  test  of  changing  at  the  right  time,  it  is  to  be 
noted  that  if  the  hill  continues  to  be  of  uniform  slope,  a  good 
driver  when  seeking  for  the  best  possible  speed  of  traveling 
should  not  find  that  the  car  gains  speed  on  the  lower  gear, 
for  that  would  prove  that  he  changed  too  late — unless  per- 
chance he  was  driving  with  the  specific  object  of  economiz- 
ing in  gasolene. 

A  bad  driver  is  as  likely  to  change  too  early  as  too  late, 
that  is  to  say  he  will  change  gear  at  a  moment  when  the  en- 
gine cannot  rotate  fast  enough  with  the  lower  gear  ratio  to 
attain  to  the  speed  which  he  already  had.  He  then  not  only 
loses  speed  and  wastes  time,  but  he  wastes  gasolene  and  does 
no  good  to  his  engine  by  racing  it. 

A  little  practice  shows  the  driver  that  an  appreciable 
amount  of  way  is  lost  during  the  brief  interval  between  the 
unclutching  and  reclutching  necessary  for  the  change  of  gear, 
so  that  when  he  is  near  the  summit  of  a  hill  he  often  deems 
it  policy  from  the  point  of  view  of  time  and  fuel  saved,  to 
avoid  interrupting  even  for  so  brief  a  time  the  action  of  the 
engine.  He  remembers  that  as  soon  as  the  crest  of  the  hill 
has  been  surmounted,  there  will  be  a  second  waste  of  time 
in  changing  up  again  to  the  top  notch. 

What  Happens  in  the  Gear-Box. 

The  ordinary  gear  requires  that  the  teeth  of  the  wheels 
which  are  in  mesh  shall  be  disengaged,  and  others  substituted 
in  their  place  by  a  sliding  movement. 

Suppose  the  car  in  motion  with  any  one  set  of  gear  wheels, 
when  it  becomes  expedient  to  change  gear.  The  person  driv- 
ing, first,  and  before  pulling  the  speed  lever,  presses  down  a 
pedal  so  as  to  disengage  his  clutch.  The  effect  of  this  is  that 
the  engine  no  longer  transmits  any  power  to  the  road  wheels 
through  the  gear,  though  the  gear  still  rotates  by  its  own 
inertia.  Then  with  the  speed  lever  he  disengages  one  pair  of 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  215 

wheels  and  quickly  attempts  to  thread  the  teeth  of  the  pin- 
ion he  wants  to  use  into  the  spaces  of  another  pinion  which 
stands  ready  on  the  shaft  which  drives  the  road  wheels. 

If  the  spaces  are  just  opposite  the  teeth  and  rotating  at 
the  same  pace  they  will  slip  into  place  sweetly;  if  not,  there 
is  grinding  and  perhaps  a  few  bruised  teeth.  Practice  alone 
can  teach  the  exact  amount  of  hurry  to  use  in  pushing  the  new 
pinion  into  place,  but  in  no  case  should  any  strong  muscular 
effort  be  expended  on  the  lever.  In  gear  changing  the  driver 
must  work  accurately,  gently  and  at  the  right  moment. 

Selective  Sliding  Gear. 

In  the  most  modern  American  parlance  the  type  of  change 
speed  gear  or  transmission  in  which  any  change  can  be  made 
without  passing  through  the  intermediate  gears  is  known  as 
selective  system.  Thus,  in  the  1909  Winton  six-cylinder  car, 
for  example,  the  gear  change  mechanism  is  of  this  type,  sup- 
ported on  annular  ball  bearings,  with  three  forward  speeds 
and  reverse.  There  is  direct  drive  on  the  third  speed  through 
internal  and  external  gear  combination.  The  selective  mech- 
anism makes  it  possible  to  enter  neutral  position,  but  impos- 
sible to  engage  any  new  set  of  gears  while  the  clutch  is  en- 
gaged. 


216  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 


PART  XVI. 
DON'TS  FOR  MOTOR-CAR  DRIVERS. 

Don'tSr— The  following  "Don'ts"  should  be  heeded  by  all 
owners  and  operators  of  gasolene  engines: 

Don't  tear  your  engine  to  pieces  if  it  will  not  run.  The 
trouble  will,  in  all  probability,  be  located  by  one  of  the  follow- 
ing tests : 

Turn  your  engine  over  and  see  if  the  compression  is  correct. 

See  if  you  have  a  spark. 

See  that  the  gasolene  supply  is  correct  and  has  no  water  in 
it. 

See  that  the  needle  valve  of  carbureter  is  not  clogged  with 
dirt. 

See  that  the  engine  valves  are  not  stuck  and  that  they  seat 
quickly.  They  should  be  reground  once  every  year. 

1.  Don't  fail  to  read  instructions  on  Starting  the  Engine. 

2.  Don't  forget  to  keep  cylinder  lubricator  filled  and  feed- 
ing.   A  dry  piston  will  greatly  reduce  the  power  and  cut  the 
cylinder  or  piston. 

3.  Don't  think  that  the  cylinder  should  be  perfectly  cold. 
A  gasolene  engine  works  best  when  it  is  warm. 

4.  Don't  keep  the  cylinder  too  hot  or  too  cold.    See  that  the 
air  has  full  circulation.     It  is  as  necessary  as  gasolene.     An 
engine  can  not  pull  a  load  if  overheated. 

5.  Don't  forget  to  throw  switch  out  when  engine  is  not 
in  use. 

6.  Don't  forget  to  shut  off  gasolene  when  not  running. 

7.  Don't  try  to  make  any  improvements  on  your  engine 
without  notifying  the  makers  first. 

8.  Don't  fail  to  use  the  kind  of  cylinder  oil  recommended 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  217 

by  the  maker.     It  may  be  better  than  the  more  expensive 
grades. 

9.  Don't  try  to  wipe  engine  while  in  motion. 

10.  Don't  use  too  much  gasolene.    The  engine  develops  the 
most  power  when  working  on  a  smokeless  mixture.     A  black 
smoke   coming   from   exhaust   means   too   much   gasolene ;   a 
blue  smoke  means  too  much  lubricating  oil. 

11.  Don't  try  to  start  engine  with  cylinder  full  of  gasolene. 
Shut  off  same  and  turn  engine  over  a  few  times  before  trying 
again. 

12.  Don't  fail  to  see  that  everything  is  ready  before  trying 
to  start  engine. 

13.  Don't  forget  that  nine  times  out  of  ten  when  the  engine 
will  not  run  you  are  at  fault.    Look  around  you  and  see  what 
you  have  forgotten.    It  does  no  good  to  turn  over  the  engine  if 
conditions  are  not  right. 

14.  Don't  fail  to  look  your  engine  over  carefully  when  it  is 
in  first-class  condition.  You  will  then  know  how  to  fix  it  when 
something  goes  wrong. 

15.  Don't  fail  to  have  a  fine  gauze  screen  put  in  your  fun- 
nel and  strain  all  gasolene  put  in  the  tank. 

1 6.  Don't  allow  the  working  parts  of  engine  to  knock  or 
hammer.     Pay  special  attention  to  the   connecting  rod  and 
keep  it  as  tight  as  will  allow  engine  to  turn  easily  and  run  cool. 

17.  Don't  think  your  engine  will  not  wear  out  and  that  it 
does  not  need  some  care. 

18.  Don't  be  afraid  to  try  and  fix  your  own  engine.     You 
can  not  tell  what  a  good  job  you  can  do  until  you  have  tried. 

19.  Don't  allow  dirt  or  dust  to  accumulate  on  top  of  your 
batteries,  as  there  is  danger  of  short-circuiting  them. 

20.  Don't  forget  to  see  that  the  wires  are  tight  on  the  bat- 
teries and  that  they  may  become  exhausted  in  five  or  six 
months. 

21.  Don't  run  electric  bells  with  engine  battery  and  don't 
let  your  engine  stand  outdoors  without  some  cover  for  pro- 
tection from  rain.  If  the  batteries  become  wet  they  will  be 
short  circuited  and  become  useless. 


218  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

22.  Don't  forget   to   look   into   the   gasolene   tank   before 
sending  for  an  expert.     This  seems  simple  but  it  has  been 
omitted  many  times  at  great  expense. 

23.  Don't  forget  "Don't"  number  seven. 

The  engine  will  never  stop  from  other  than  one  of  the  fol- 
lowing causes: 

24.  Gasolene  supply  exhausted. 

25.  Air  circulation  not  sufficient. 

26.  Overload. 

27.  Gasolene  pipe  obstructed  or  the  connections  loose. 

28.  Battery  failing  or  broken  wire. 

29.  Spark  being  set  out  of  time  or  a  short  circuit  in  the 
insulation  of  the  spring. 

30.  Not  enough  oil,  or  poor  oil  on  piston. 

31.  Bearings  not  lubricated  and  sticking. 

32.  Intake  or  exhaust  stem   sticking  or  leaking  valves. 

33.  Packing  blowing  out. 

34.  Exhaust  spring  becoming  weak  or  some  part  becom- 
ing disconnected  or  broken. 

35.  The  gasolene  pipe  being  clogged  or  having  a  loose  joint. 

36.  The  spark  plug  becoming  short-circuited. 

37.  Parts  can  only  become  disconnected  by  neglect  to  keep 
them  tightened  properly. 

38.  Breakages  can  only  occur  by  some  obstruction  com- 
ing in  contact  with  moving  parts,  some  objects  striking  en- 
gine; or,  some  part  getting  loose  or  disconnected. 

39.  The   screw  of  the   spark  coil  sticking  to  the   spring. 
Smooth  off  the  points. 

The   engine  will  not  run  unsteadily  from   other  than  the, 
following  causes: 

40.  Lack  of  oil  on  all  governor  bearings,  especially  collar. 

41.  Governor  out  of  adjustment  by  someone  changing  it, 
or  natural  wear. 

42.  By  the  catch  plate  on  the  end  of  governor  lever  becom- 
ing worn,  so  it  will  not  hold  up  the  push  lever  during  the  idle 
strokes  of  the  engine. 

43.  By  the  governor  lever  becoming  out  of  adjustment  so 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  V  219 

its  catch  plate  can't  engage  the  projection  on  the  push  lever 
when  it  has  been  pushed  out  by  the  cam. 

44.  Gasolene  valve  not  properly  regulated. 

45.  Obstruction  of  gasolene  pipe  by  water  or  otherwise. 

46.  If  using  batter}r,  the  battery  becoming  weak  and  miss- 
ing fire. 

47.  The  spark  plug  points  fouled  with  oil,  soot  or  rust.    The 
exhaust  spring  becoming  weak. 

48.  The  exhaust  or  intake  valve  stem  sticking  slightly,  but 
not  enough  to  stop  engine. 

49.  The  accumulation  of  dirt  and  grit  in  any  of  the  gover- 
nor bearings. 

50.  The  insulation  of  the    insulated    spark    nlug    spring 
becoming  short  circuited. 

51.  The  exhaust  or  intake  valve  leaking. 

A  Few  "Knox"  Don'ts. 

Below  are  a  few  Don'ts  urged  by  the  manufacturers  upon 
the  attention  of  all  purchasers  of  "Knox"  cars. 

Don't  start  the  motor  until  certain  that  the  spark  and 
throttle  control  levers  are  in  their  proper  position  (spark  lever 
at  highest  point  on  sector ;  throttle  advanced  one-quarter  way ; 
gear  shift  lever  in  neutral  position  on  inside  of  speed  gears). 

Don't  let  the  clutch  drop  in ;  let  in  gradually. 

Don't  start  car  on  other  than  first  speed. 

Don't  start  car  with  brakes  applied. 

Don't  let  engine  race  or  run  at  a  high  speed  when  car  is 
standing  idle. 

Don't  let  car  stand  with  gear  shift  in  other  than  neutral 
position. 

Don't  let  car  stand  on  hill  without  applying  emergency 
brake. 

Don't  advance  throttle  too  far  when  starting  car. 

Don't  try  to  run  without  oil,  water  or  gasolene. 

Don't  drive  fast  around  corners ;  it  is  dangerous  and  destruc- 
tive to  tires. 


220  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

"Don'ts"  for  Drivers. 

The  following  "Don'ts"  by  Mr.  Dave  H.  Morris,  former 
president  of  the  Automobile  Club  of  America  and  member  of 
the  Committee  on  Public  Safety  are  also  well  worth  heeding: 

1.  Don't  disobey  the  rules  of  the  road. — Remember  to  keep 
to  the  right  and  pass  on  the  left. 

2.  Don't  forget  that  pedestrians  have  the  same  rights  as 
vehicles  at  street  crossings. — Remember  that  vehicles  do  not 
have  the  right  of  way  at  street  crossings. 

3.  Don't  forget  that  your  rate  of  speed  should  never  exceed 
the  legal  rate,  whatever  it  may  be. — Remember,  when  local 
conditions  require,  to  adopt  even  a  lower  rate    )f  speed  than 
the  legal  rate. 

4.  Don't  get  "rattled." — Remember  that  it  is  the  "other  fel- 
low" who  always  loses  his  head  in  a  crisis. 

5.  Don't    insist    upon    your    rights. — Remember    that    the 
"other  fellow"  may  not  know  your  rights,  and  an  insistance 
on  your  part  is  bound  to  result  in  an  accident. 

6.  Don't  argue  with  trolley-cars,  express-wagons,  brewery- 
trucks,  or  other  heavy  bodies  found  in  the  public  thorough- 
fare.— Remember  that  the  drivers  of  these  powerful  vehicles 
generally  operate  on  the  theory  that  might  is  right. 

7.  Don't  expect  women  and  children  to  get  out  of  your 
way. — Remember  that  many  women  and  children  don't  know 
how  to  avoid  danger. 

8.  Don't  run  any  unnecessary  risks. — Remember  that  while 
the  automobile  is  flexible,  powerful,  and  easily  operated,  you 
may  make  a  slip. 

9.  Don't  drink. — Remember  that  nine-tenths  of  the  acci- 
dents occur  to  automobiles  driven  by  intoxicated  chauffeurs. 

10.  Don't  sneak  away  in  case  of  an  accident. — Remember 
that  the  true  gentleman  chauffeur,  although  he  may  not  be 
responsible  for  the  misfortune,  stands  his  ground. 

11.  Don't  fail  to  be  a  gentleman  under  any  provocation. — 
Remember  that  the  Golden  Rule  practised  on  the  road  will 
save  you  no  end  of  trouble,  expense,  and  worry. 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  221 

DON'TS  FOR  TIRE  OWNERS. 

Do  not  apply  brakes  so  hard  as  to  skid  the  wheels;  this  is 
what  tears  tires  to  pieces. 

Do  not  round  corners  at  top  speed ;  remember  that  in  turn- 
ing corners,  particularly  when  a  car  is  loaded,  there  is  great 
strain  on  the  tires.  Figure  this  out. 

Do  not  let  the  tires  rub  the  curb ;  the  steering  knuckle  may 
become  bent  and  the  tires  badly  worn  on  one  side. 

Do  not  let  in  the  clutch  so  that  the  car  starts  with  a  jerk; 
this  tears  the  tread  of  the  tires  and  is  apt  to  part  the  rubber 
from  the  fabric. 

Do  not  permit  water  to  creep  between  the  tires  and  the 
rims ;  the  fabric  will  be  rotted  from  the  water  and  from  the 
rust  that  will  form  on  the  rims. 

Do  not  run  at  speed  over  roads  that  have  rocks  or  crushed 
stone  on  the  surface ;  give  the  tires  a  chance  to  respond  to 
the  inequalities  of  the  road. 

Do  not  drive  in  street  car  tracks ;  they  will  cut  the  tires  on 
the  outside  edge  in  a  short  time. 

Do  not  take  railroad  tracks,  bridges,  crosswalks,  etc.,  head 
on  and  at  speed ;  take  them  at  an  angle  and  slow  down,  so  as 
to  avoid  pinching  the  inner  tube. 

Do  not  guess  the  tires  have  enough  air ;  put  on  a  gauge  and 
know  it. 

Do  not  go  out  without  an  extra  casing,  two  extra  tubes,  a 
repair  kit,  a  pump  and  an  air  bottle.  The  last-named  is  one  of 
the  blessings  of  motoring;  it  has  taken  away  half  the  troubles. 

Do  not  become  hasty  or  excited  in  making  a  tire  repair; 
time  will  always  be  saved  by  taking  things  as  they  come  and 
making  the  best  of  them. 

Do  not  permit  a  car  to  rest  on  a  deflated  tire ;  it  will  soon 
cut  the  casing  and  pinch  the  tube. 

Do  not  fail  to  use  talcum  or  soapstone  in  the  casing  when 
making  a  change  or  when  putting  in  a  new  tube ;  it  prevents 
fricCon  and  adhesion. 


222  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

Do  not  let  lug  nuts,  valve  nuts,  valve  caps,  rim  nuts,  or  any 
other  part  become  loose. 

Do  not  let  the  valve  stem  be  exposed  to  mud  and  dirt ; 
secure  a  cap  for  it  and  always  use  it. 

Do  not  run  a  fire  flat ;  if  necessary,  because  of  the  absence 
of  another  casing  or  repair  kit,  remove  the  casing  and  destroy 
the  rim  rather  than  the  casing — it  will  be  cheaper.  Better 
still,  procure  some  rope  and  make  a  temporary  tire,  first  re- 
moving the  casing. 

Do  not  permit  small  holes  or  cuts  to  go  unvulcanized ;  a 
stitch  in  time  is  a  certainty  in  this  case. 

Do  not  throw  the  extra  inner  tube  under  the  seat  and  amid 
all  the  other  stuff  carried ;  deflate  it,  wrap  it  in  a  water-proof 
bag  and  pack  it  away  carefully. 

Do  not  forget  a  few  extra  valves  to  be  carried  in  the  repair 
kit. 

Do  not  use  tire  chains  more  than  is  absolutely  necessary; 
they  can  do  the  tires  no  good. 

Do  not  3rive  on  the  side  of  the  road  when  it  can  be  avoided ; 
this  puts  a  terrific  strain  on  the  tires. 

Do  not  stint  yourself  on  the  use  of  free  air. 

Do  not  permit  wheels  out  of  true  to  remain  so;  they  will 
soon  wear  out  the  tires.  Wheels  should  track ;  axles  should 
be  straight. 

Do  not  permit  grease  or  oil  to  remain  on  tires;  clean  with 
gasolene  and  dry  immediately. 

Do  not  permit  rims  to  become  rusty;  cover  with  enamel, 
paint  or  shellac.  Before  applying  tires,  coat  the  rim  with 
graphite  and  the  tire  will  be  easy  to  remove. 


PART  XVIL 
THE  LAW  OF  THE  ROAD. 

The  law  of  the  road  is  a  rule  of  action  descended  from 
customs  that  have  become  recognized  as  law  in  the  great  body 
of  common  law  of  both  England  and  America.  Rules  of 
action  have,  from  practically  time  immemorial,  been  crystal- 
lized into  laws,  so  that  today  that  which  was  custom  years 
and  years  ago  has  become  recognized  law  and  is  without 
exception  enforced  by  the  courts. 

The  old  custom  in  England  of  traveling  on  the  highway,  was 
that  two  vehicles  approaching  each  other  and  going  in  opposite 
directions,  should  pass  to  the  left  of  each  other;  that  each 
vehicle  was  entitled  to  the  use  or  right  of  way  over  the  left 
half  of  the  used  portion  of  the  highway.  This  custom  being 
so  general  in  its  application,  grew  into  a  positive  law,  and 
today  in  England  is  so  enforced. 

Approaching  from  the  Right — In  the  United  States  the  rule 
of  highways  in  its  application  as  to  approaching  vehicles  is 
just  the  opposite  from  that  recognized  as  the  law  in  England, 
that  is  to  say,  that  vehicles  approaching  each  other  on  the 
highways  and  going  in  opposite  directions  are  entitled  to  the 
use  of,  and  the  right  of  way,  over  the  right  side  of  the  used 
portion  of  the  road. 

This  does  not  mean  that  one  vehicle  approaching  another 
is  entitled  to  the  use  and  occupancy  of  the  entire  right  hand 
side  of  the  highway  as  laid  out  and  graded,  but  that  it  is 
entitled  to  one-half  of  the  used  or  beaten  path  of  the  highway, 

223 


224  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

excepting  only  where  the  other  party  can  with  reasonable 
safety  give  such  portion  of  the  beaten  highway. 

The  rights  of  travelers  on  the  public  highways  are  mutual 
and  coordinate,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  each  so  to  use  his  right  of 
passage  as  not  to  cause  injury  or  detriment  to  another  having 
a  like  right.  (Hennessey  v.  Taylor.  189  Mass.  583.) 

Reasonable  Care — One  using  an  automobile  on  the  public 
highway  must  use  reasonable  and  proper  care  in  its  operation, 
and  bear  in  mind  that  he  does  not  have  right  to  the  exclusive 
right  of  way.  He  must  also  do  that  which  is  required  by  the 
statutes  and  common  law  when  the  conditions  therein  re- 
ferred to  arise.  The  operator  of  an  automobile  is  charged  with 
that  degree  of  care  in  proportion  to  the  varying  dangers  and 
risks  of  the  highway,  and  which  is  commensurate  with  the 
dangers  naturally  incident  to  the  use  of  such  vehicle.  He  is 
obliged  to  take  notice  of  the  conditions  before  him  and  if  it  is 
apparent  that  by  any  particular  method  of  proceeding  he  is 
liable  to  work  an  injury,  it  is  his  duty  to  adopt  and  follow 
some  other  or  safer  method,  if  with  reasonable  care  and  pru- 
dence he  can  do  so.  (Berry  on  Automobiles.) 

Mr.  Berry  says :  "When  on  the  streets  of  a  city  he  is  bound 
to  anticipate  that  he  may  meet  persons  at  any  point  in  the 
street  and  he  must  keep  a  proper  lookout  for  them  and  keep 
his  machine  under  such  control  as  will  enable  him  to  avoid  a 
collision  with  any  other  person  using  proper  care  and  caution. 
The  operator  must  keep  a  watch  out  for  where  he  is  driving, 
and  if  stopped,  he  must  not  start  his  vehicle  in  motion  before 
looking  ahead  to  ascertain  if  the  way  is  clear. 

"In  determining  the  degree  of  care  wrhich  the  operator  of 
an  automobile  should  use  while  on  the  highway,  it  is  proper  to 
take  into  consideration  the  place,  presence  or  absence  of  other 
travelers,  the  speed  of  the  automobile,  its  size,  appearance, 
manner  of  movement  and  the  amount  of  noise  it  makes  and 
anything  that  indicates  unusual  or  peculiar  danger." 

What  is  considered  proper  care  and  caution  in  a  given 
situation  is  measured  by  the  danger  which  is  to  be  reasonably 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  225 

apprehended  under  circumstances  existing  at  the  time,  and 
not  by  looking  backward  after  the  accident  has  happened. 

Automobiles  have  the  same  inherent  right  to  the  use  of 
highways  as  any  other  vehicle,  and  the  care  and  caution  re- 
quired in  their  use  is  to  be  determined  in  the  same  manner  as 
that  of  the  use  of  any  other  vehicle,  under  like  conditions  and 
circumstances,  proper  consideration  being  given  to  the  appear- 
ance, noise,  speed,  etc. 

Passing  Another  Vehicle — When  one  vehicle  approaches 
another  going  in  the  same  direction  and  attempts  to  pass  it, 
each  is  bound  to  exercise  ordinary  and  reasonable  care  to  avoid 
injury  to  the  other,  and  if  necessary  and  practicable,  to  give 
way  so  as  to  allow  the  other  to  pass  in  safety.  One  person  is 
not  compelled  to  travel  behind  another  on  the  highway,  and 
one  has  not  the  exclusive  right  to  precede  the  other.  A  trav- 
eler in  the  rear  may  pass  to  the  front  when  he  can  do  so  in 
safety. 

Mr.  Huddy,  in  his  recent  work  on  automobiles,  says,  "In 
England,  the  traveler  who  overtakes  and  passes  another  must 
pass  on  the  off  side  of  the  forward  traveler,  who  should  at  the 
same  time  go  to  the  left.  It  is  said  that  in  this  country  there 
is  no  rule  regulating  how  the  overhauling  vehicle  should  pass 
the  one  in  front.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  if  it  can  be  said  that 
there  is  no  rule  fixing  a  way  the  following  vehicle  should  pass 
the  one  ahead.  It  is  customary  in  many  parts  of  the  country 
for  the  vehicle  in  the  rear  to  pass  on  the  left  side ;  that  is,  just 
the  opposite  from  the  English  rule,  and  is  perfectly  apparent 
that  this  custom  is  dictated  by  common  sense.  This  has  been 
recognized  in  some  of  the  recent  automobile  laws. 

"Nevertheless,  it  has  been  held  that  the  law  of  the  road 
applies  only  to  travelers  who  approach  each  other  from  oppo- 
site directions,  and  that  the  advance  traveler  is  under  no 
obligation  to  turn  to  either  side  to  allow  the  following  traveler 
to  pass,  even  though  there  may  be  a  set  rule  how  a  following 
vehicle  shall  pass  the  one  in  front,  it  would  seem  that  such  a 
rule,  like  the  one  covering  vehicles  approaching  from  opposite 


226  'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

directions,  will  be  merely  a  rule  of  negligence,  and  the  liability 
of  the  parties  would  be  subject  to  the  law  of  negligence." 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  rules  of  action  as  above 
outlined,  only  prescribe  the  duties  of  persons  using  the  public 
highways;  that  a  breach  of  such  duty  resulting  in  the  injury 
to  another,  would  not  amount  to  negligence  per  se,  but  must  be 
determined  under  the  law  of  negligence. 

The  direction  of  the  law  that  users  of  highways  shall  pass 
and  approach  each  other  as  above  set  out,  are  not  without 
exception.  Thus  one  is  not  required  to  give  half  the  road  to 
an  approaching  or  passing  vehicle  unless  he  can  do  so  with 
reasonable  safety  for  himself.  If  the  road  is  narrow  or  there 
are  collateral  obstructions,  then  it  would  seem  it  would  be 
the  duty  of  approaching  vehicles,  before  arriving  at  such  nar- 
row place  in  the  highway,  or  parallel  with  such  collateral 
obstruction,  to  stop  and  permit  the  other  to  pass  without  forc- 
ing an  attempt  to  pass  on  such  narrow  or  obstructed  part  of 
the  highway. 

In  Indiana,  under  the  provisions  of  the  acts  of  1907,  especially 
applicable  to  drivers  and  users  of  automobiles,  it  is  provided 
that  an  automobile  approaching  from  the  rear  of  anyone  lead- 
ing, riding  or  driving  horses  or  draft  animals  or  other  farm 
animals,  shall  reduce  the  speed  of  their  car  to  not  more  than 
six  miles  per  hour  and  upon  such  party  so  riding,  driving  or 
leading  such  horses,  etc.,  turning  to  the  right  such  automobile 
shall  pass  on  the  left  hand  side.  This  seems  to  be  the  first 
statutory  legislation  in  Indiana  wherein  any  direction  has 
been  named  as  to  how  an  approaching  vehicle  from  the  rear 
shall  pass  the  one  in  advance. 

It  has  been  the  usual  custom  in  Indiana  for  such  approach- 
ing vehicle  from  the  rear  to  pass  to  the  left,  but  this  custom, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  has  not  crystallized  into  a  uniform 
rule  of  action,  although  it  would  seem  that  it  should  be  so, 
especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  there  is  a  like  enforced 
regulation  applicable  to  vehicles  approaching  each  other  and 
going  in  the  opposite  directions. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  law  of  the  road  is  not  an 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  227 

inflexible  law;  that  the  object  of  such  a  law  and  rule  of  action 
is  to  protect  and  provide  for  the  safety  of  those  who  have  a 
mutual  and  coordinate  right  to  the  public  highway;  that  one 
may  presume  that  another  will  act  according  to  such  custom 
as  well  as  he  himself  so  acting,  results  in  the  likeliest  safety  of 
each.  The  law  varies  in  its  application  under  different  cir- 
cumstances. 

Mechanical  Road  Book. 

Through  the  invention  of  a  clever  Boston  automobilist,  by 
the  name  of  Baldwin,  the  great  bugbear  of  motor  car  owners 
and  drivers  who  desire  to  tour  or  take  long  journeys  has  been 
removed.  The  inventor  calls  his  device  the  "Auto  Guide," 
and  with  it  the  automobilist  may  tour  from  town  to  town  and 
state  to  state  by  day  or  night  without  fear  of  losing  the  road 
through  the  inefficiency  of  the  guide  book  or  the  puzzling  map. 

The  Auto  Guide  itself  is  a  cylinder  of  aluminum  which 
clamps  securely  to  the  steering  column,  being  as  simple  in 
construction  as  it  is  accurate  and  practical  in  principle. 

The  interior  mechanism  is  surprisingly  free  from  compli- 
cated parts,  consisting  of  brass  reels  operated  by  gears,  which 
in  turn  are  controlled  by  the  hand  wheel  and  contain  within  a 
small  cylinder,  a  battery  and  a  2%-candle-power  light. 

The  whole  fits  snugly  in  and  is  removable  from  the  small 
fixed  outer  case,  which  is  clamped  to  the  steering  wheel  be- 
fore the  driver's  eyes  and  out  of  the  way. 

The  route  sheets  are  attached  to  the  reels  in  much  the  same 
way  that  a  film  is  to  the  reels  in  a  kodak.  The  route  is  thus 
under  the  operator's  eye  from  start  to  finish  by  day  and  night, 
and  can  be  turned  backward  and  forward  at  the  will  of  the 
operator.  It  takes  but  a  second  to  insert  a  new  route,  and 
hundreds  of  them  can  be  carried  in  the  same  space  that  would 
be  occupied  by  a  cumbersome  map  or  bulky  guide  book.  Mr. 
Baldwin  has  already  mapped  out  the  entire  eastern  states  and 
is  now  making  arrangements  to  start  several  cars  path-find- 
ing over  some  of  the  western  routes. 


228  'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

Licenses  for  Motorists. 

What  Constitutes  a  Chauffeur — Under  a  ruling  made  by 
Judge  Staake,  of  the  Quarter  Sessions  court  in  Philadelphia,  a 
chauffeur  is  a  person  who  drives  a  motor  car  for  pay.  Several 
months  ago  (in  August,  1910),  Assistant  Attorney-General  W. 
H.  Hargest,  of  Pennsylvania,  when  asked  for  an  opinion  in  the 
matter  by  the  State  Highway  Department,  ruled  that  a  chauf- 
feur meant  anyone  other  than  the  owner,  who  operated  an 
automobile. 

This  opinion  was  so  fraught  with  significance  to  the  auto- 
mobile public  generally,  that  the  Quaker  City  Motor  Club 
decided  to  contest  such  an  interpretation  and  a  test  case  was 
prepared.  Stanley  P.  Cooper,  a  member  of  the  club,  who  did 
not  have  a  license,  borrowed  his  sister's  car  and  drove  up 
Broad  Street  in  Philadelphia  and  around  the  city  hall  until  he 
was  arrested  by  a  policeman  who  had  been  informed  that 
Cooper  did  not  have  a  license.  He  was  fined  $10,  and  appealed 
to  the  Quarter  Sessions  court,  where  the  appeal  was  sustained 
and  the  legal  status  of  the  chauffeur  definitely  outlined. 

In  his  opinion  Judge  Staake  declared  that  the  laws  of  every 
state  in  which  automobile  laws  have  been  passed,  define  the 
term  "chauffeur"  to  include  the  idea  of  compensation  for  the 
operation  of  a  vehicle.  He  said  that  if  it  had  been  the  intention 
of  the  legislature  to  require  all  operators  of  motor  cars  to  be 
licensed  under  the  present  law,  it  would  have  made  specific 
provision  for  such  a  condition.  Under  the  ruling  of  Mr.  Har- 
gest it  would  have  been  necessary  for  each  member  of  the 
family  of  a  car  owner,  who  wished  to  drive  and  who  might  be 
thoroughly  competent  to  do  so,  to  take  out  a  license. 

How  to  Lessen  Accidents — This  may  be,  and  probably  is, 
good  law,  but  the  only  effect  will  be  to  bring  about  a  revision 
of  the  various  state  license  laws.  The  great  body  of  motorists 
are  in  favor  of  state  supervision  to  the  extent  of  official  ex- 
aminations to  determine  who  is  competent  to  handle  a  motor; 
not  merely  competent  from  a  mechanical  viewpoint,  but 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  229 

possessed  of  the  necessary  common  sense  that  tends  to  dimin- 
ish the  risk  of  accident. 

All  sensible  motorists  wish  to  avoid  accidents,  and  to  con- 
fine the  driving  of  cars  to  competent  people.  To  secure  this 
result  they  will  cheerfully  indorse  and  support  all  necessary 
legislation,  both  state  and  municipal.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  most  of  the  accidents  are  caused  by  incompetency,  care- 
lessness, or  intoxication.  These  are  evils  which  injure  the 
motoring  fraternity,  and  which  may  be  largely  guarded  against 
by  limiting  the  issue  of  linecses  to  competent,  careful,  sober 
people. 

No  person  is  allowed  to  run  a  stationary  engine,  or  a  marine 
or  locomotive  engine,  until  he  has  provided  himself  with  a 
certificate  of  competency.  There  is  urgent  need  of  the  same 
rule  in  motoring,  if  the  good  of  the  sport,  and  the  safety  of 
both  motorists  and  the  general  public  is  to  be  conserved.  .  The 
practice  of  allowing  children  to  drive  motor  cars  is  especially 
obnoxious.  In  addition  to  the  competency  test  there  should 
also  be  an  age  requirement.  No  certificate  should  be  issued  to 
a  person  under  18. 

One  great  trouble  is  that  nearly  all  state  and  municipal 
regulations  are  now  based  on  the  fee-getting  plan,  with  a  view 
to  obtaining  as  much  money  from  the  motorists  as  possible. 
Any  person  who  will  pay  the  fee  can  get  a  license  regardless 
of  competency. 

Restraint  on  Speed — Another  weakness  in  the  present  sys- 
tem is  the  arbitrary  restraint  on  speed.  There  can  be  no  ques- 
tion but  that  there  should  be  a  rigidly  enforced  speed  limit  on 
all  vehicles  moving  in  city  streets,  and  to  some  extent  in  the 
more  populous  rural  districts.  But  common  sense  should  be 
used  in  establishing  the  limit.  Because  it  is  dangerous  for  A 
to  run  a  car  at  20  miles  an  hour  it  does  not  follow  that  the 
same  risk  attaches  to  a  machine  moving  at  30  miles  an  hour 
when  operated  by  B,  a  much  more  experienced,  careful  and 
competent  driver. 

It  is  the  duty  of  all  intelligent  motorists  to  give  encourage- 


230  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

ment  to  all  legislation  that  will  really  safeguard  the  sport,  and 
there  are  few  who  will  not  do  so  cheerfully.  So  long  as  laws 
are  in  force  they  should  be  obeyed  to  the  letter,  regardless  of 
how  objectionable  or  unfair  they  may  be.  But,  with  proper 
effort  they  can  be  repealed,  and  more  equitable  legislation 
enacted.  The  first  move  to  be  made  is  to  secure  the  abolition 
of  the  present  dangerous  method  of  issuing  licenses  solely  for 
the  fees,  and  substitute  a  rigid  competency  test. 

Speed  With  Security. 

In  a  special  article  on  this  subject  printed  in  The  Automobile, 
Marius  C.  Krarup  says: 

If  it  is  assumed  that  the  present  legal  regulations,  while  in 
most  localities  onerous  and  one-sided,  would  safeguard  traffic 
as  much  as  is  required  if  they  were  enforced,  but  accomplish 
this  object  (wherever  it  is  accomplished)  mainly  by  cutting 
down  the  average  speed  to  something  less  than  is  intrinsically 
desirable,  it  follows  that  the  cutting  out  of  elements  which  are 
admittedly  important  sources  of  danger  and  inconvenience, 
but  which  have  never  so  far  been  subjected  to  regulation  or 
elimination,  must  result  automatically  in  raising  the  average 
permissible  speed  not  only  for  automobiles,  but  for  all  mem- 
bers of  "the  traffic  which  are  capable  of  taking  advantage  of  the 
change.  Systematic  agitation  on  this  basis  would  pave  the 
way  for  a  general  understanding  of  the  fine  points  involved — 
points  which  are  not  necessarily  too  finely  drawn  because  they 
have  not  so  far  been  spontaneously  and  commonly  appreciated. 
Nearly  all  the  factors  in  modern  civilization  which  make  civil- 
ization what  it  is,  and  which  no  one  would  think  of  abandon- 
ing, are  in  their  origin  beyond  the  range  of  popular  insight. 
The  automobile  motor  is  one  of  them.  The  true  means  for 
securing  safe  traffic  in  conjunction  with  high  average  speed 
may  be  similarly  inconspicuous  to  the  average  mind  before 
their  efficiency  has  been  proved  in  practice,  and  yet  they  may 
be  readily  perceived  by  the  specialist  who  is  acquainted  with 
the  underlying  facts  and  is  accustomed  to  weigh  the  values  of 
general  ideas  one  against  the  other. 


'AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  231 

How  Speed  Is  Increased — The  traffic  regulation  in  New 
York  and  Chicago  offers  an  example  of  speed  increased  by 
means  of  the  suppression  or  regulation  of  other  dangerous 
elements.  By  halting  the  traffic  at  crossings  and  sending  it 
away  in  blocks,  the  average  speed  of  the  traffic  has  been  raised 
considerably  and  the  safety  of  pedestrians  has  been  increased 
at  the  same  time.  At  high  speed  more  vehicles  pass  a  given 
point  in  a  given  time.  Inversely,  at  any  one  point  a  given 
number  of  them  are  farther  apart. 

One  of  the  leading  considerations,  when  one  is  looking  over 
the  hindrances  which  at  present  exist  against  the  general 
adoption  of  speedy  traffic,  is  presented  in  the  obvious  require- 
ment that  the  reasonable  degree  of  caution  which  everybody 
is  expected  to  observe  shall  not  be  reduced  from  a  mutual 
to  a  one-sided  obligation.  The  normal  condition  of  the  past — 
preceding  the  automobile — has  been  that  A  looked  out  for  B, 
but  also  that  B  looked  out  for  A.  Neither  A  nor  B  can  be 
satisfied  to  have  safety  reduced  50  per  cent  at  the  outset  by 
having  all  the  obligation  or  all  the  ability  to  observe  caution 
delegated  upon  one  of  the  two.  "Fifty  per  cent"  is  here  used 
figuratively.  It  may  be  more  or  less.  Nobody  can  tell  the 
exact  relations.  Perhaps  security  depends  25  per  cent  on  one 
party's  caution,  25  per  cent  on  the  other  party's  caution  and  50 
per  cent  on  the  combination  of  both.  The  vital  fact  is,  that  it 
suffers  when  the  full  use  of  the  senses  is  not  shared  by  all 
concerned. 

Slow  Traffic  Most  Dangerous — This  condition  is  realized, 
however,  if  traffic  member  A  is  usually  so  placed  that  it  is 
physically  impossible  or  difficult  for  him  to  get  out  of  the  way 
of  an  automobile  unless  the  driver  B  of  the  automobile  ob- 
serves him  and  voluntarily  contributes  his  share  by  veering 
from  his  course,  slowing  up  or  signaling.  Evidently  speed  is 
in  this  respect  of  importance;  in  fact,  the  largest  element  of 
all  the  danger  ascribed  to  speed,  consists  in  this  reduction  of 
chances.  The  remedy  consisting  in  speed  reduction  would  be 
almost  ideal  if  it  were  desirable,  and  if  it  could  be  enforced. 
But,  being  undesirable,  it  cannot  be  enforced,  and  slow  speed, 


232  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

adopted  as  a  rule,  but  most  conspicuous  by  its  exceptions,  be- 
comes perhaps  more  dangerous  than  an  expected  high  average 
speed,  which  the  members  of  the  traffic  learn  to  more  or  less 
accurately  gauge  and  look  out  for. 

The  "fifty  per  cent"  reduction  of  tranquility  and  safety 
which  undeniably  must  be  the  result,  if  one  person  instead  of 
two,  is  depended  upon  for  producing  the  desired  situation,  in 
each  instance  is  so  serious,  if  anything  in  traffic  regulation  is 
serious,  that  it  must  by  some  means  be  counteracted  if  it  shall 
be  said  that  the  system  of  regulation  is  efficient.  A  fifty  per 
cent  reduction  of  ease  and  a  somewhat  corresponding  reduc- 
tion of  safety  in  traffic  would  be  too  high  a  price  to  pay  for 
speed. 

Leaving  aside  all  scientific  phraseology,  the  condition  for 
perceiving  motion  in  one's  surroundings  may  be  said  to  consist 
in  having  motion  represented  in  the  sense  images  are  produced 
in  the  brain  of  the  observer  or  person  who  is  in  line  for  re- 
ceiving a  sense  image,  whether  consciously  observing  or  other- 
wise. Motion  in  a  sense  image  means  change  from  one  image 
to  a  different  one.  If  this  change  from  one  image  to  another 
is  slow  or  very  small,  the  idea  is  conveyed  to  the  mind  that 
the  thing  in  the  surroundings  which  moves,  is  distant  or  moves 
slowly.  The  mind  can  usually  determine  whether  it  is  slow 
or  distant  by  the  aid  of  a  number  of  simultaneous  sense  im- 
ages; that  is,  sound  helps  to  interpret  sight,  and  man's  dual 
or  perspective  vision,  due  to  the  co-ordination  of  the  two  eyes, 
is  in  itself  usually  sufficient  for  deciding  whether  the  motion 
is  slow  or  distant.  When  the  attention  of  the  person  is 
focussed  upon  the  moving  thing,  the  difficulties  in  forming 
accurate  perceptions  are,  of  course,  minimized,  but  for  the 
subject  in  hand  the  question  is  one  of  the  perceptions  formed 
under  less  favorable  circumstances,  as  when  the  "mind  is  ab- 
sent" and  the  different  senses  are  not  consciously  co-ordinated. 

Dangers  of  Hesitation — Examples  may  illustrate  the  mat- 
ter. When  a  person  places  his  finger  upon  another  person's 
naked  arm,  the  act  is  noticed  distinctly,  because  the  sense 
image  of  the  touch  represents  a  change,  but  if  the  finger  re- 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  233 

mains  there  and  is  not  noticeably  warmer  or  colder  than  the 
arm,  the  mind,  if  otherwise  occupied,  is  likely  to  become  nearly 
unconscious  of  the  presence  of  the  ringer,  the  sense  image 
produced  by  its  light  pressure  remaining  without  change,  ex- 
cept such  as  may  be  due  to  pulsation,  slight  difference  in 
temperature,  etc.  If  a  person  not  intimately  familiar  with  the 
gait  of  horses  hears  the  steps  of  a  walking  horse,  but  sees 
nothing,  he  receives  frequently  the  impression  of  two  horses 
trotting,  or  of  a  fast  canter,  because  the  walk  produces  a  more 
rapid  succession  of  separate  and  distinct  auditory  sense  images, 
and  only  the  slow  change  in  the  distinctness  of  the  sounds  con- 
vinces him  after  a  little  hesitation,  that  the  movement  causing 
the  sounds  is  in  reality  slow,  whereupon  he  reasons  that  it  is 
a  walk.  Similar  hesitation  in  the  traffic  is  to  be  avoided. 

Proper   Preparation  of  Roads. 

Macadam  Surfaces  Condemned — At  the  last  session  of  the 
International  Road  Congress,  held  at  Brussels  in  1910,  one  of 
the  most  important  matters  considered  was  the  selection  of 
proper  surfacing  materials  for  roadways.  As  reported  in  the 
American  Motorist,  the  proceedings  of  the  congress,  of  special 
interest  to  motorists,  were  as  follows : 

Despite  the  advocacy  of  English  and  American  engineers, 
the  congress  was  strongly  of  opinion  that  our  old  friend,  the 
macadam  road,  even  when  improved  by  tarring,  was  not  suit- 
able for  heavy  or  intense  traffic.  The  charges  brought  against 
it  were  that  it  formed  dust  in  summer  and  mud  in  winter,  and 
that  it  was  costly  and  troublesome  to  maintain.  The  conclu- 
sion was  arrived  at  that  it  should  be  abolished  from  roads  of 
any  importance,  its  use  being  limited  to  suburban  quarters  and 
the  outskirts  of  towns,  or  as  a  temporary  expedient  in  new 
quarters  where  building  operations  have  not  been  completed, 
or  for  avenues  in  woods,  parks,  etc. 

The  natural  substitute  for  macadam,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
congress,  is  small  stone  pavement  wherever  traffic  is  intense. 
This  is  not  the  old-fashioned  LouisXIV.  pave  of  ill-fame  among 


234  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

motorists,  and  found  on  many  of  the  old  French  roads,  but  a 
surface  of  small  setts  with  close  joints,  such  as  is  now  being 
used  on  many  of  the  heavy  traffic  roads  of  France,  Belgium 
and  Germany.  As  the  serious  objection  can  be  made  against 
granite  blocks  of  being  noisy,  especially  under  horse  traffic, 
it  was  recommended  that  wood  or  asphalt  surfacing  should  be 
used  in  its  place  for  fashionable  avenues  having  no  street  car 
lines,  and  where  the  grade  is  not  more  than  iVi  per  cent.  Soft 
wood  blocks — northern  red  fir,  pine,  larch,  etc. — were  recom- 
mended in  place  of  hardwood  blocks  on  account  of  their  con- 
siderably lower  cost,  and  the  fact  that  they  have  not  the  same 
destructive  effect  on  concrete  foundations  as  oak,  karri,  jarrah, 
liem,  blackbutt,  etc.  Although  not  called  upon  to  express  an 
opinion  on  this  matter,  this  section  of  the  congress  gave  it  as 
its  opinion  that  car  lines  laid  in  the  roadway  constitute  a  source 
of  very  serious  deterioration. 

England  for  Tar  Treatment — In  England,  the  construction 
of  tar-treated  macadam  roads  having  been  developed  to  a  high 
degree,  it  was  not  surprising  to  find  Col.  R.  E.  B.  Crompton 
upholding  this  method.  He  places  the  advantages  of  tarred 
macadam  roads  as  absence  of  noise,  dust  and  mud,  facility 
of  scavenging,  and  low  cost  of  upkeep.  He  only  recommends 
granite  sets  for  roads  with  heavy  traffic  in  the  neighborhood  of 
warehouses,  docks,  and  goods  sheds,  whereas  the  continental 
experts  believe  it  is  most  suitable  for  intense  automobile  traffic. 
Col.  Crompton  enters  into  lengthy  explanations  of  the  best 
method  of  constructing  tar  roads  and  states  that  it  is  neces- 
sary to  select  the  basalt  or  granite  materials  very  judiciously, 
for  their  capabilities  of  absorbing  tar  vary  considerably.  To 
achieve  success  in  tar-made  roads  it  is  necessary  to  put  no 
more  tar  or  bituminous  binding  material  on  the  road  than  is 
absolutely  necessary.  He  believes  that  inexperience  in  the 
making  of  tar  roads  is  largely  responsible  for  their  failure  in 
many  parts  of  continental  Europe. 

Tar  painting  of  roads,  supplemented  by  sanding  or  the 
spreading  of  some  thin  layer  of  suitable  stony  material  with 
or  without  rolling,  met  with  the  approval  of  the  congress, 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  235 

In  this  section  a  large  amount  of  valuable  information  was 
supplied  by  the  American  contributors :  Harold  Parker,  chair- 
man of  the  Massachusetts  State  Highway  Commission ;  Percy 
Hooker,  chairman  of  the  New  York  State  Highway  Commis- 
sion; Austin  B.  Fletcher,  of  Boston;  and  Walter  Wilson 
Crosby,  of  Baltimore.  Tar  and  oil  emulsions  and  hydroscopic 
salts  were  declared  to  have  a  real  but  ephemeral  efficiency, 
and  their  use  should  be  reserved  for  special  occasions. 

Car  Track  Problem — Car  tracks  laid  flush  with  the  roadway 
were  unanimously  condemned  by  the  congress  because  of  the 
damage  they  do  to  the  road  itself  and  on  account  of  the  greatly 
increased  cost  of  maintenance.  Although  no  method  of  avoid- 
ing them  entirely  could  be  brought  forward,  especially  in 
cities,  it  was  proposed  that  their  use  be  made  as  limited  as 
possible.  On  open  roads  it  was  proposed  that  there  should  be 
a  special  track  for  cars  and  light  railways,  and  that  it  should 
be  super-elevated  to  allow  of  adequate  drainage.  Where  new 
roads  were  planned,  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of  towns, 
sufficient  width  should  be  provided  to  allow  of  the  future  con- 
struction of  a  light  railway.  The  suppression  of  trees  along 
roadsides  should  not  be  tolerated.  If  the  width  between  the 
rows  of  trees  was  insufficient  to  allow  of  a  car  track  and  the 
necessary  room  for  traffic,  the  rails  should  be  laid  on  the  out- 
side of  the  rows  of  trees. 

Motorists,  who  are  not  road  constructors,  have  often  won- 
dered why  the  highways,  intended  for  traffic,  should  also  be 
used  for  burying  water,  gas  and  electric  mains.  Now  road 
constructors,  who  are  not  motorists,  recognize  the  absurdity 
of  such  an  arrangement  by  a  resolution  that  as  far  as  possible, 
all  disturbing  mains  should  be  laid  under  the  sidewalks,  plac- 
ing only  the  large  diameter  mains  and  intercepting  sewers, 
which  require  less  attention,  under  the  roadway.  Wherever 
possible,  special  subways  should  be  built  under  the  sidewalks, 
these  to  receive  all  pipes  with  the  exception  of  gas.  Where  a 
roadway  exceeds  70  to  80  feet  in  width,  or  if  it  is  only  50  feet 
in  width,  but  has  very  heavy  traffic,  the  mains  should  be 
duplicated,  one  set  passing  under  each  sidewalk.  The  same 


236  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

rule  should  apply  in  the  case  of  streets  with  expensive  surfaces, 
such  as  wood  or  asphalt.  A  better  understanding  should  exist 
between  the  authorities  responsible  for  roads  and  mains  in 
order  that  repairs  shall  be  carried  out  with  the  least  interference 
with  traffic. 

Speed  Within  Reasonable  Limits — The  second  congress,  like 
the  first  one  held  at  Paris,  is  of  the  opinion  that  touring  cars 
cannot  cause  abnormal  damage  to  the  roads  so  long  as  their 
speed  is  kept  within  reasonable  limits.  What  these  limits  are 
it  does  not  attempt  to  define.  Heavily  loaded  and  springless 
animal-drawn  vehicles  may  cause  abnormal  damage  to  roads 
constructed  for  the  more  common  use  of  spring  vehicles  and 
of  automobiles.  Public  service  vehicles  are  declared  to  be 
innocent  of  damage  if  their  speed  is  kept  below  11  miles  an 
hour,  if  the  axle  load  does  not  exceed  4  tons,  and  if  for  39-inch 
wheels  the  load  does  not  exceed  330  pounds  per  centimetre 
width  of  tread. 

Industrial  motors  are  believed  to  be  free  from  damage  when 
they  comply  with  the  following  conditions:  Axle  load  less 
than  4  tons ;  average  speed  10  miles  an  hour ;  load  on  tires  330 
pounds  per  centimetre  width  of  tire,  with  wheels  of  39  inches 
diameter ;  or  vehicles  having  axle  loads  of  4  to  7  tons,  average 
speed  6  miles  an  hour,  load  on  tires  330  pounds  per  centimetre 
width  of  tire  with  wheels  of  39  inches  diameter.  When  the 
diameter  of  the  wheels  is  more  than  39  inches,  the  load  per 
centimetre  width  of  tread  should  be  calculated  for  both  types 
of  vehicles,  by  using  the  formula, 

c  =  150  V  d 
where  d  is  the  diameter  in  metres  and  c  the  load  in  kilograms 

Suggestions  to  Makers — Ribbed  or  grooved  iron  tires  were 
considered  destructive  under  any  circumstances.  A  resolution 
was  adopted  that  automobile  constructors  should  go  carefully 
into  the  question  of  clutches  and  brakes  in  order  that  the 
skidding  of  wheels  may  be  avoided ;  also  that  they  should 
balance  motors  as  perfectly  as  possible,  and  that  they  allow  a 
reasonable  raising  of  the  centre  of  gravity. 

Motor  omnibuses   came  in  for  really   favorable  comment, 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  237 

although  there  appeared  to  be  a  divergence  of  opinion  on  the 
possibility  or  otherwise,  of  making  them  profitable  to  the 
promoters.  Rubber  tires  were  recommended  wherever  pos- 
sible, and  it  was  believed  that  for  country  districts  the  most 
suitable  type  of  vehicle  was  one  carrying  from  10  to  14  people. 
For  town  work  an  omnibus  carrying  about  24  people  and 
driven  by  a  25  to  35-horsepower  motor  was  recommended. 

International  Road  Signs — Road  signs  having  been  definitely 
decided  upon  at  the  first  International  congress,  there  was  no 
need  to  discuss  them  at  the  second  gathering.  Edmond  Chaix, 
of  the  Automobile  Club  of  France,  presented  a  paper,  however, 
in  which  he  pointed  out  how  the  four  international  signs  had 
been  adopted  and  what  progress  had  been  made  in  their  erec- 
tion on  the  highways.  The  international  signs,  which  were 
proposed  at  the  first  International  Road  Congress  and  finally 
adopted  at  a  meeting  held  in  Paris  in  December,  1908,  consist 
of  a  large  black  disc  with  figures  in  white ;  these  are  four  in 
number,  representing  a  turn,  an  obstacle  across  the  road,  a 
grade  crossing,  and  dangerous  cross  roads.  Belgium  and  Italy 
made  some  objection  to  the  round  form  of  the  sign  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  the  same  as  railway  discs  and  might  cause 
confusion  where  highway  and  railroad  were  close  together. 
Thus,  after  discussion,  it  was  decided  that  the  round  form 
should  be  used  in  preference,  but  if  there  were  local  difficulties 
it  might  be  replaced  by  a  rectangular  form.  It  was  also  de- 
cided that  the  inscription  of  the  obstruction  or  danger  spot  in 
the  national  language  should  also  be  optional. 

According  to  the  reports  presented,  these  signs  have  given 
entire  satisfaction  in  the  various  countries  in  which  they  have 
been  adopted.  Holland  regretted  that  no  provision  had  been 
made  for  indicating  dangerous  descents,  but  the  matter  was 
not  discussed  by  the  congress.  Several  papers  were  read  on 
distance  signs,  without  any  discussion  taking  place. 

London  for  Next  Meeting — During  the  congress  a  meeting 
of  the  English-speaking  delegates  was  held  at  the  Palais  de  la 
Nation,  when  the  following  resolution  was  adopted:  "That 
this  meeting  of  the  English-speaking  members  of  the  Inter- 


238  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

national  Road  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  desirable  in  the 
interests  of  the  congress  to  hold  the  next  congress  in  1913  in 
London,  and  suggests  to  the  Permanent  Commission  that  the 
decision  as  to  the  place  of  the  meeting  of  the  next  congress  be 
deferred  until  it  can  be  ascertained  whether  the  Government 
of  the  United  Kingdom  will  join  the  association  and  extend 
an  invitation  to  it  to  hold  the  congress  of  1913  in  London." 

The  resolution  was  supported  strongly  by  all  the  English- 
speaking  associations  represented  at  Brussels.  At  present 
there  are  27  governments  connected  with  the  Permanent  In- 
ternational Association  of  Road  Congresses. 


PART  XVIII. 
RACE  DRIVING  AS  A  BUSINESS. 

Speed  Mania  Essential — Automobile  race  drivers  as  a  rule, 
regard  their  profession  as  a  strictly  money-making  business, 
aside  from  the  fact  that  they  never  would  have  gone  into  it  if 
they  didn't  have  the  speed  mania.  Almost  everybody  likes  to 
go  fast  in  an  automobile,  and  the  average  chauffeur  who  has 
good  control  of  his  car  is  more  apt  than  not  to  gratify  his 
desire. 

It  is  easy  to  show  that  the  chauffeurs  and  other  employes 
about  automobile  places  like  to  speed.  A  man  in  the  automo- 
bile business  says :  "I  can  go  into  any  garage  in  the  city  and 
get  all  the  men  I  want  to  drive  my  cars  in  races.  They're  glad 
to  do  it  for  nothing.  They  know,  too,  that  if  they  ever  get 
reputations  they  will  make  a  lot  of  money." 

Earnings  of  Crack  Drivers — It  is  interesting  to  see  just  what 
"a  lot  of  money"  means  in  this  business,  which  certainly  is 
dangerous  enough.  There  are  three  men  today  who  are  in  the 
first  rank  as  money-making  automobile  drivers  in  this  country. 
Of  these  three,  one  man  seldom  competes  in  races.  He  is 
content  to  go  about  giving  exhibitions.  He  is  not  under  con- 
tract to  any  one  firm,  but  has  several  cars  of  different  makes, 
and  has  also  a  stable  of  followers,  so  that  he  and  his  men  can 
give  exhibitions.  This  man,  taking  a  week  or  several  days  of 
time  at  fairs  and  other  places  where  such  sensations  are  in 
demand,  gives  exhibitions  but  avoids  races. 

239 


240  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

He  has  figured  out  that  there  is  nothing  in  racing  when 
the  money  can  be  got  for  speed  trials.  He  makes  his  appear- 
ances on  a  contingent  arrangement  or  else  takes  a  guarantee. 
It  is  likely  that  this  man,  who  is  playing  the  game  safest  of 
all,  will  make  $50,000  the  best  year  he  has. 

So  much  for  this  man,  whose  case  is  unusual.  The  men  who 
actually  take  chances,  that  is,  who  compete  in  road  and  track 
races  in  competition,  do  not  get  anywhere  near  as  much.  The 
best  of  them  all  probably  makes  $20,000  in  his  most  profitable 
season.  He  gets  a  contract  from  the  firm  for  which  he  drives, 
he  gets  pay  from  makers  of  oils  and  tires,  he  receives  appear- 
ance money  at  places  where  his  being  a  competitor  would 
enhance  the  meet,  and  there  are  other  little  perquisites. 

This  is  what  he  gets  for  risking  his  neck  several  times  a 
year.  He  doesn't  have  to  compete  as  often  as  the  man  who 
gives  exhibitions,  but  he  runs  a  great  risk  every  time  he  does 
start.  This  man  and  one  other  driver  are  in  the  front  rank  of 
the  racing  automobilists  and  they  get  the  top  notch  pay. 

There  is  a  very  large  contingent  of  racing  drivers  who 
haven't  arrived  yet.  They  are  getting  from  $2,000  to  $5,000 
a  year  for  what  they  are  doing  and  probably  consider  them- 
selves well  paid.  They  have  to  take  part  in  more  races  too, 
than  do  the  top  notchers,  because  the  lads  with  the  big  repu- 
tations can  afford  to  make  terms  as  to  how  often  they  shall 
race  in  a  season.  In  other  words,  this  game  is  about  as  un- 
remunerative  as  anything  could  be  and  still  is  one  of  the 
riskiest  forms  of  employment  to  be  found. 

Why  Men  Drive  Racers — Naturally  the  racing  driver 
wouldn't  follow  this  occupation  if  he  didn't  like  it.  The  game 
fascinates  him  and  he  likes  to  go  at  speed.  He  has  always  be- 
fore him  the  hope  that  he  will  get  away  up  in  the  profession  and 
collect  money  enough  to  retire  on  before  he  meets  with  an  acci- 
dentf  although  for  the  matter  of  that,  the  racing  driver  never  for 
a  moment  considers  the  chances  of  himself  being  hurt.  If  he 
did  he  wouldn't  be  worth  much  as  a  driver.  He  wouldn't  have 
ginger  enough. 

He  does  think,  though,  that  the  other  fellow  is  likely  to 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  241 

"get  his"  and  thus  give  him  a  chance  if  he  happens  to  be  fall- 
ing behind.  It  is  a  great  deal  like  that  feeling  which  makes 
folks  say  of  someone  who  has  died,  "isn't  that  too  bad?"  for- 
getting that  the  same  fate  must  inevitably  overtake  the  speaker. 

The  racing  driver  has  too  much  to  occupy  his  mind  while 
he  is  driving,  anyway,  to  give  him  a  chance  to  think  about 
accidents  to  himself.  He  has  things  to  watch,  signs  and  marks 
along  the  road,  and  he  has  the  handling  of  the  car  to  attend 
to ;  so  he  sits  tight  and  plugs  away  and  hopes  for  the  best. 

As  for  the  mechanic,  his  case  isn't  quite  so  easy.  He  doesn't 
get  paid  anywhere  near  so  much  as  the  driver,  but  he  is  likely 
to  meet  with  the  same  disastrous  fate  if  an  accident  happens. 
He  hasn't  nearly  so  much  to  attend  to  as  the  other  fellow,  and 
so  he  has  more  time  to  think  about  things.  There  isn't  any 
chance  to  talk. 

One  mechanic  was  asked  if  he  wasn't  afraid  of  an  accident 
when  going  along  with  a  certain  daredevil  foreign  driver. 
"Oh,  no,"  he  said,  shrugging  his  shoulders.  "The  chauffeur 
looks  out  for  himself.  He  doesn't  want  to  be  hurt.  Thus  he 
looks  out  for  me  at  the  same  time." 

Handicap  in  American  Races — This  country  has  not  pro- 
duced so  many  well  known  drivers  as  are  developed  abroad, 
chiefly  for  the  reason  that  there  are  not  enough  good  races 
here  to  bring  them  out.  The  driver  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water  has  eight  or  ten  great  road  races  over  long  courses  in 
a  single  season,  and  these  are  the  things  that  encourage  a  large 
number  of  drivers  to  competition. 

Here,  although  the  number  of  these  races  is  increasing,  it  is 
still  not  large  enough,  and  the  conditions  are  not  regarded  as 
satisfactory  by  the  men  who  want  to  see  motor  racing  flourish. 
The  small  track  races  are  not  approved  of  particularly,  and 
the  road  races  over  small  circuits  also  fail  to  come  up  to  the 
standards  they  have  set.  They  d6  not  believe  in  "bringing 
the  car  past  the  grand  stand  as  often  as  possible,"  which  seems 
to  be  the  ideal  of  many  promoters.  These  men  who  want  to 
see  better  motor  racing  think  that  the  long  circuit  means  bet- 
ter racing  and  better  driving,  even  if  the  cars  themselves  are 


242  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

seen  only  every  twenty  minutes  or  so.  In  that  way  the  foreign 
idea,  which  is  still  pretty  good  to  copy  in  these  matters,  would 
be  closely  approximated. 

Expense  of  Motor  Racing — The  business  of  motor  racing  is 
one  of  the  most  expensive  things  the  average  manufacturer 
can  tackle,  but  it  isn't  such  a  bad  investment  when  one  of  the 
cars  entered  wins.  It  may  cost,  for  instance,  $35,000  to  send 
three  cars  to  the  line  for  such  a  race  as  the  Vanderbilt  cup, 
held  in  October,  1910,  but  let  one  of  those  cars  win,  and  the 
company  is  made. 

Sales  increase  to  unbelievable  percentages  immediately  fol- 
lowing such  a  victory,  and  the  cost  of  entering  and  running  the 
cars  is  wiped  out  in  almost  no  time.  The  firms  that  enter  cars 
that  do  not  win  and  do  not  make  a  good  showing  have  to  stand 
the  loss,  but  one  such  victory  means  not  one  season  but  several 
seasons  of  great  profit,  so  that  the  risk  is  worth  while  taking. 

The  cost  of  preparing  a  team  of  racers  for  some  big  event 
cannot  be  figured  in  advance.  The  professional  driver  who  is 
hired  is  the  sole  judge  of  what  should  be  bought,  and  he  gives 
his  orders  as  he  wishes.  It  is  part  of  the  bargain  with  him. 
He  orders  repairs  and  parts  and  tires  and  what  not,  as  he 
decides  it  is  necessary,  and  so  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  the 
cost  is  going  to  figure  up.  The  preparation  of  the  racing  car 
itself  isn't  a  very  big  matter,  compared  to  the  upkeep  of  it 
when  it  is  trying  out.  So  it  can  be  seen  that  the  manufacturers 
themselves  have  experience  of  the  saying  about  it's  "not  being 
the  first  cost  that  counts." 

The  most  variable  matter  in  the  handling  of  a  racing  auto- 
mobile is  the  cost  of  tires.  Some  lucky  drivers  will  go  through 
an  entire  race  without  the  semblance  of  tire  trouble.  Another 
driver  on  the  same  course  and  making  use  of  the  same  sort  of 
tire,  will  have  all  sorts  of  blowouts  and  punctures.  It  has 
happened  that  a  racing  car  sent  for  a  road  race  over  a  small 
course  finds  the  turns  too  hard  and  has  many  forms  of  tire 
troubles  that  wouldn't  be  the  case  on  a  bigger  circuit. 

There  was  a  car  not  long  ago  which  entered  a  Western  race 
and  finished  nowhere,  for  which  $1,000  was  spent  because  of 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  243 

tire  trouble  in  the  contest;  and  yet  there  was  another  racer 
several  years  ago  which  came  through  two  winning  contests 
on  the  road  without  ever  a  puncture  or  other  bother.  It  is 
something  that  can't  be  figured  up,  and  it's  one  thing  that 
makers  have  to  pay  a  lot  for,  if  there  is  tire  trouble. 

Marked  Difference  in  Drivers — Racing  drivers  are  of  various 
classes  as  regards  ability  and  also  as  regards  the  sort  of  com- 
petitions in  which  they  can  show  best.  For  instance,  there 
are  men  who  can't  do  a  thing  in  a  road  race  who  are  most  ex- 
pert when  it  comes  to  track  driving ;  and  the  reverse,  of  course, 
is  true  of  other  men.  There  is  a  lot  of  what  is  called  luck  in 
driving  racing  automobiles.  It  means  that  one  man  will  get 
through  without  being  bothered,  whereas  another  man  under 
apparently  like  conditions  will  get  out  of  one  hole  only  to  be 
plunged  into  another;  but  it  is  not  a  well-paid  calling  under 
any  circumstances. 

Race  Driving  by  Amateurs — Many  wealthy  men  who  for- 
merly found  pleasure  and  excitement  in  horse-racing,  yachting, 
polo,  and  similar  sports,  are  now  devoting  their  time  and 
energies  to  automobile  racing.  But  they  are  not  in  the  game 
for  the  money  reward.  They  are  actuated  by  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent motive. 

Caleb  Bragg,  the  millionaire  driver,  had  just  finished  the 
crowning  achievement  of  his  racing  career  by  defeating  Barney 
Oldfield  in  a  desperate  battle  on  the  Los  Angeles  track.  The 
crowd  in  the  stands  was  talking  with  bated  breath  of  the 
achievement,  but  one  bucolic  visitor  did  not  seem  impressed. 

"You  say  he  has  a  few  millions  in  his  own  right?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,  he's  well  off,"  replied  his  companion. 

"And  he  don't  have  to  risk  his  blamed  neck  out  there  'less  he 
wants  to?" 

"That's  what  I  said." 

The  farmer  chewed  a  straw  meditatively  and  finally  said, 
thoughtfully:  "I  read  a  story  somewhere  once  called  'The 
Dern  Fool.'  There  wasn't  a  word  in  there  about  Bragg.  I 
guess  the  feller  that  writ  it  never  had  heard  of  him." 

And  there  you  have  the  attitude  of  the  average  man  toward 


244  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING 

the  amateur  automobile  race  driver.  This  business  of  a  man 
worth  $10,000,000  driving  ten  miles  on  a  track  in  less  than  ten 
minutes  at  the  risk  of  a  broken  neck  gets  next  to  them.  And 
yet,  from  the  dawn  of  the  automobile  racing  game,  men  with 
money,  position,  brains,  education  and  maybe  just  a  shade  too 
much  spare  time,  have  been  engaging  in  automobile  races. 

Foxhall  Keene  as  Driver — One  of  the  first  of  the  really 
famous  amateur  drivers  in  America  was  Foxhall  Keene.  There 
was  no  call  for  Foxhall  to  risk  his  neck.  He  had  money.  And 
yet  he  fairly  doted  on  the  risk.  For  awhile  his  specialty  was 
polo.  But  all  he  could  smash  there  was  collarbones  or  an 
occasional  arm.  So  he  bought  himself  a  120-horsepower 
Mercedes  and  began  to  stick  it  in  the  Vanderbilt  Cup  races. 
It  would  take  a  book  to  tell  all  of  his  thrilling  experiences. 
In  1905  he  made  a  phenomenal  showing  in  the  early  part  of 
the  race.  The  following  year  a  cracked  cylinder  kept  him  out. 
But  he  did  not  retire  from  the  racing  game  for  good  until  he 
demonstrated  positively  that  there  was  not  a  racing  car  built 
that  could  kill  him. 

Coming  down  to  more  recent  times,  says  the  Sportsman  and 
Motorist,  it  was  no  longer  ago  than  the  fall  of  1909,  in  the 
Vanderbilt  Cup  race,  that  an  amateur  took  part  in  this  ex- 
tremely dangerous  contest.  His  name  was  Spencer  A.  Wis- 
hard.  He  has  a  lot  of  money  and  he  owns  an  old  Mercedes. 
This  buggy  he  sticks  into  every  speed  contest  that  he  fancies, 
and  last  year  in  the  Vanderbilt,  while  he  did  not  win,  he  was 
running  when  the  race  was  stopped  and  his  car  was  one  of  a 
half  dozen  that  was. 

One  Lucky  Driver — Asa  G.  Candler,  Jr.,  president  of  the 
Atlanta  Automobile  Association,  is  an  extraordinarily  good 
driver.  Mr.  Candler  has  been  driving  cars  since  they  were 
invented  and  is  rated  one  of  the  top  notch  road  drivers  of  the 
South.  He  owns  one  extra  good  racing  machine — the  Fiat 
"sixty" — that  has  won  races  by  the  hundreds  in  Italy,  France 
and  America.  It  is  said  by  the  experts  that  the  Fiat  company 
never  turned  out  a  faster  car  for  its  size.  The  Speedway 
president  is  not  only  a  skillful  handler  of  the  machine,  but  is 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING  245 

in  addition  lucky.  He  has  never  had  anything  even  resembling 
an  accident. 

The  "Luckiest  Fool" — In  the  Speedway  meet  in  Atlanta  in 
1910,  an  amateur  was  running  away  with  a  ten-mile  free-for- 
all,  in  Candler's  Fiat.  The  timers  were  catching  the  miles, 
and  each  one  was  showing  a  speed  of  seventy  miles  an  hour 
or  better.  About  the  middle  of  the  race  the  Fiat  slowed  down 
on  the  far  turn,  wobbled  a  bit,  and  then  limped  slowly  home. 
Officials  and  reporters  crowded  around  the  red  machine  as  it 
slowed  down  at  the  pits.  "What  happened?"  "What's  the 
matter?"  "Why  did  you  stop?"  were  a  few  of  the  questions 
fired  at  him.  But  he  only  sat  back  in  the  seat  and  murmured : 
"Ain't  I  the  luckiest  fool?  Ain't  I  the  luckiest  fool?" 

Finally,  he  seemed  to  realize  that  the  folk  gathered  around 
were  talking  to  him. 

"Oh,  nothing  happened,"  he  said  with  a  smile;  "only  the 
steering  arm  broke  and  the  left  front  wheel  bucked  under  while 
I  was  going  around  the  last  turn  about  seventy  miles  an  hour. 
And  I  didn't  run  off  the  track  and  break  my  fool  neck.  Wrhat 
do  you  know  about  that?" 


PART  XIX. 
NEGLIGENCE  IN  DRIVING. 

What  constitutes  negligence  in  driving?  This  is  a  question 
which  interests  and  affects  every  man  who  operates  an  auto- 
mobile. It  not  only  affects  his  own  safety  and  that  of  those 
who  may  be  in  his  car,  but  concerns  all  other  persons  who  use 
the  public  roads. 

An  interesting  case  involving  the  injury  of  a  rider  of  a 
motorcycle,  injured  in  a  collision  with  an  automobile,  was  tried 
in  the  Circuit  court  of  Wayne  county,  Michigan,  wherein  the 
rider  of  the  motorcycle  recovered  judgment  and  the  auto- 
mobile operator  appealed  to  the  supreme  court  of  Michigan, 
which  last  court  handed  down  its  opinion  in  deciding  the  case 
on  September  27th  last,  1910.  Some  nice  questions  are  in- 
volved and  it  will  be  interesting  to  note  the  case  in  full. 

Justice  Brooke,  writing  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  court, 
says:  Plaintiff  recovered  a  judgment  against  defendant  for 
$300  in  an  action  of  tort  for  injuries  sustained  by  him  in  a 
collision  between  a  motorcycle,  ridden  by  himself,  and  an  auto- 
mobile driven  by  defendant.  The  collision  occurred  at  the 
corner  of  Woodward  and  Milwaukee  avenues  in  the  city  of 
Detroit. 

How  the  Collision  Occurred. 

Plaintiff  entered  Woodward  avenue  from  the  east  and  turned 
south.  Defendant  was  proceeding  north  on  Woodward. 
Plaintiff  claimed  that  he  passed  across  the  center  of  Wood- 
ward avenue  before  turning  south,  and  defendant  ran  his 

246 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING.  247 

machine  diagonally  across  the  street,  striking  plaintiff's  ma- 
chine on  the  west  side  of  Woodward,  just  south  of  Milwaukee. 
Defendant  claimed  that  plaintiff  turned  south  on  Woodward 
upon  the  east  side  of  the  street,  when  he,  defendant,  was  ap- 
proaching the  intersection  of  Milwaukee,  that,  supposing 
plaintiff  intended  to  stop  at  the  east  side  of  the  street,  he, 
defendant,  turned  slightly  to  the  west  to  avoid  him,  that 
plaintiff  suddenly  discovered  defendant's  approach,  and 
swerved  to  the  west  side  of  Woodward,  where  the  vehicles 
came  together.  Defendant  was  prosecuted  in  police  court 
for  driving  his  machine  at  a  rate  of  speed  prohibited  by 
ordinance. 

Discrepancies  in  Testimony. 

Upon  that  trial  plaintiff  gave  testimony  for  the  people.  He 
there  testified  that  when  he  entered  Woodward,  he  observed 
defendant  approaching  from  the  south  at  a  distance  of  about 
from  50  to  70  feet ;  later  he  brought  this  suit  against  defendant 
in  the  justice  court,  where  he  testified  that  he  first  saw  de- 
fendant when  he  was  about  in  the  center  of  the  block,  be- 
tween Baltimore  and  Milwaukee.  Upon  the  trial  in  the  cir- 
cuit court,  plaintiff  testified  that  when  he  first  saw  defendant, 
he  was  nearer  Baltimore  than  Milwaukee  avenue.  Plaintiff 
was  crossexamined  at  great  length  by  counsel  for  the  defend- 
ant upon  the  discrepancies  in  his  testimony  upon  the  question 
of  distance.  Plaintiff  testified  repeatedly  that  he  did  not  re- 
member having  testified  in  police  and  justice  courts  as  the 
records  in  those  proceedings  indicated. 

Court  Protects  the  Witness. 

Counsel  for  defendant  then  asked  the  following  question : 
"Q.     And,  if  you  testified  differently  in  police  court,  your 

testimony  in  police  court  was  not  true? 

"Court:     You  cannot  ask  anybody  to  testify  in  that  way, 

not  the  adverse  witness.    That  is  for  the  jury  whether  he  is 


248  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING. 

mistaken.  It  is  unreasonable  to  ask  anybody  whether  testi- 
mony is  untrue.  That  is  for  the  jury. 

"Mr.  Ostoby:  The  question  is  whether  he  intentionally 
testified. 

"Court:  I  will  rule  it  out.  It  is  impertinent  to  ask  any 
man  whether  it  was  not  true. 

"Q.  If  you  testified  in  justice  court,  Mr.  Scott,  that,  when 
you  first  came  on  Woodward  avenue  Mr.  Dow  was  85  feet 
from  you,  your  testimony  in  justice  court  was  not  true? 

"Court:  You  need  not  answer.  It  is  impertinent  and  in- 
sulting to  a  witness,  and  a  lawyer  should  not  ask  it,  and  I 
reprimand  you  now.  It  is  wrong." 

Upheld  by  Supreme  Court. 

Error  is  assigned  upon  this  ruling  and  the  accompanying 
language.  We  think  the  question  was  properly  excluded.  It 
was  not  proper  crossexamination,  as  the  court  had  pointed  out 
earlier  in  the  trial.  Counsel  had  clearly  brought  out  the  vari- 
ations in  the  plaintiff's  various  estimates  as  to  distance.  These 
discrepancies  were  proper  subjects  of  comment  to  the  jury. 
We  cannot  say  that  the  language  in  which  the  ruling  was 
couched  constitutes  reversible  error  as  it  was  induced  by 
counsel's  disregard  of  the  court's  previous  ruling. 

Charges  by  Trial   Court. 

Defendant  requested  the  court  to  charge  as  follows :  "I 
charge  you  that  the  motorcycle  on  which  the  plaintiff  was 
riding  on  October  19,  1907,  was  a  motor  vehicle  within  the 
meaning  of  the  Michigan  motor  vehicle  law."  Error  is  as- 
signed upon  the  court's  refusal  to  give  this  request,  and  it  is 
argued  that  in  so  doing  he  allowed  the  jury  to  test  the  actions 
of  the  defendant  by  the  standard  prescribed  by  the  statute, 
and  the  actions  of  the  plaintiff,  on  the  other  hand,  by  the  com- 
mon law.  A  sufficient  answer  to  this  claim  is  found  in  the 
following  excerpts  from  the  charge :  "I  charge  you  that  the 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING.  249 

plaintiff  in  operating  his  motorcycle  on  the  day  in  question 
was  bound  to  observe  the  same  rules  of  the  road  as  was  the 
defendant  in  charge  of  his  automobile;  that  the  plaintiff  had 
the  right  to  operate  his  motorcycle  only  in  compliance  with 
the  law  and  the  burden  of  proof  is  on  him  to  show  that  he  was 
lawfully  operating  his  vehicle  on  Woodward  avenue.  If  you 
find  that  the  plaintiff  in  going  into  Woodward  avenue  from 
Milwaukee  on  the  day  in  question  was  operating  his  motor- 
cycle at  a  greater  speed  than  permitted  under  the  laws  of 
Michigan,  and  the  traffic  ordinances  of  the  city  of  Detroit, 
then  he  was  prima  facie  guilty  of  contributory  negligence,  and 
could  not  recover." 

A  Ruling  on  Negligence. 

Error  is  likewise  assigned  upon  the  refusal  of  the  court  to 
give  the  following  request:  "I  charge  you  that  the  motor- 
cycle upon  which  the  plaintiff  was  riding  on  October  19,  1907, 
was  a  motor  vehicle  within  the  traffic  ordinance  of  the  city 
of  Detroit,  approved  April  30,  1907."  The  last  paragraph  of 
the  charge  above  quoted  sufficiently  covers  this  request,  and 
is  more  favorable  to  defendant  than  was  proper.  There  was 
much  conflict  in  the  testimony,  as  to  the  rate  of  speed  at 
which  plaintiff  entered  Woodward  avenue.  That  question, 
therefore,  became  a  question  of  fact  for  the  jury.  Had  the 
jury  determined  that  plaintiff  was  at  that  moment  operating 
his  machine  at  a  speed  greater  than  four  miles  per  hour  (the 
ordinance  limit),  plaintiff's  recovery  would  not  necessarily 
have  been  barred.  Breach  of  an  ordinance  is  evidence  of  neg- 
ligence not  negligence  per  se.  Blickey  v.  Luce's  Estate,  148 
Mich.  233,  III  N.  W.  752  and  cited  cases. 

Overrules  Defendant's  Plea. 

It  is  urged  that  the  court  erred  in  refusing  to  give  defend- 
ant's request  as  follows:  "I  charge  you  that  where  a  col- 
lision takes  place  the  presumption  is  against  the  person  on  the 


250  AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING. 

wrong  side  of  the  road."  Inasmuch  as  the  collision  actually 
occurred  on  the  west  side  of  Woodward  avenue,  which  was 
the  wrong  side  of  the  road  for  the  defendant  to  be  upon  when 
travelling  northward,  it  would,  at  first  thought,  appear  that 
this  charge,  if  given,  would  have  operated  against  his  (the 
defendant's)  interest.  But  it  will  be  remembered  that  it  was 
the  defendant's  theory  that  he  had  been  driven  out  of  his 
proper  course  by  an  effort  to  avoid  a  collision  with  the  plain- 
tiff who  was  earlier  upon  the  east  side  of  the  street.  Upon 
this  point  also,  the  testimony  of  the  various  witnesses  did  not 
agree.  The  court  charged :  "And  last,  if  you'  find  the  plain- 
tiff cut  the  corner  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Milwaukee  ave- 
nue and  Woodward  avenue,  in  entering  upon  Woodward 
avenue  and  came  into  the  way  of  the  motorman  (the  defend- 
ant), and  a  collision  occurred,  whether  by  the  carelessness 
of  the  motorman,  a  little  greater  or  more  than  that  of  the 
plaintiff,  the  plaintiff  cannot  recover,  for  he  must  be  without 
blame  or  fault  in  the  matter." 

This  court  is  of  the  opinion  that  defendant's  rights  were 
fully  protected  by  the  foregoing  and  other  portions  of  the 
charge.  The  judgment  is  affirmed. 

Strange  Phases  of  Case. 

We  have  here  a  most  peculiar  condition.  The  plaintiff 
(the  motorcycle  rider)  appears  to  have  been  favored  by  the 
trial  and  also  the  reviewing  courts,  in  a  number  of  important 
particulars,  and  the  result  should  be  a  lesson  to  all  automobile 
drivers  that  they  must  exercise  more  than  ordinary  caution  if 
they  would  avoid  responsibility  for  accidents  for  which  they 
are  not  entirely  to  blame. 

In  the  case  cited  it  appears  that  if  the  defendant  (the  auto- 
mobile driver)  had  stuck  to  his  own  side  of  the  road  he  would 
have  undoubtedly  been  run  into  by  the  plaintiff  and  the  con- 
ditions might,  and  probably  would,  have  been  much  more 
serious  than  they  were.  But,  in  that  event,  the  motorcycle 


AUTOMOBILE  DRIVING.  251 

rider  would  have  been  the  aggressor,  and  the  right  to  recover 
damages  would  have  been  in  the  automobile  driver.  That  the 
latter  minimized  the  effects  of  the  collision  by  taking  the 
wrong  side  of  the  road  in  an  effort  to  avoid  being  run  into  by 
the  motorcycle  rider,  who  was  approaching  in  the  wrong  di- 
rection, does  not  seem  to  have  been  taken  into  consideration 
by  the  courts.  The  automobile  man,  with  the  best  and  most 
human  intention,  was  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  road  and  in 
the  eyes  of  the  law  was  guilty  of  negligence.  This,  at  least, 
is  the  ruling  of  the  courts. 

There  is  one  safe  rule  in  motoring — keep  to  the  right.  Some 
transgressor  may  run  you  down,  but  you  will  not  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  such  damages  as  he  may  receive,  although  you 
will  probably  have  to  pay  your  own. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUB  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
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AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

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JUL    7   1941 


5Apr'49PA 


IUul'55SE| 


- 1955  LU 


TUT5 


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pF<-rn  L.Q 


DEC    41957 


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YB  38140 


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